Esteban Ribovics is confident he will do something big in his next UFC bout, and he certainly has the stage for it.
The Argentine fighter will be taking on fellow rising prospect Daniel Zellhuber on the main card of UFC 306, which takes place Saturday at Sphere in Las Vegas. This is a massive event that celebrates Mexican Independent weekend, and Ribovics (13-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) has all the intention to spoil the party for Mexico’s Zellhuber (15-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC).
“I expect a war,” Ribovics told MMA Junkie in Spanish. “I’m obviously going to get hit, but he’s going to take hits, as well. In my head, at some point, he will fall. That’s what I believe. That’s what I feel, and from my point of view, at some point he will fall.”
Ribovics has the chance to get on a three-fight win streak should he beat Zellhuber at Noche UFC. He doesn’t think a big win over Zellhuber will get him in the UFC lightweight rankings, but it would certainly be a big step in his career.
“I want to be in the rankings soon,” Ribovics said. “God willing, maybe by the end of next year I’ll be in the rankings. So yeah, I think getting a win in this type of event, and if I win in a big way, how I have it visualized, I think it will get me a lot closer to the top 15.”
As far as playing the spoiler role at UFC 306, Ribovics is enjoying it all. He’s not pressured at all by the Mexican presence, and in fact, he feels fueled by it.
“I don’t feel pressured, but you do see a lot of Mexican events happening this weekend with all the posters for music artists and other Mexican events,” Ribovics said. “You can tell this week it will get very Mexican in Las Vegas, but no, I love feeling like the bad guy. This motivates me and I always like fighting as the visitor, so it’s something that brings out the demon in me. I’m happy, very happy.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 306.
