Las Vegas — Perhaps the most honest reaction from a fighter following UFC 306 on Saturday came from Esteban Ribovics, who won the Fight of the Night (and staked a claim to Round of the Year if not Fight of the Year) against Daniel Zellhuber.
“Emotionally I feel very proud, and all the work paid off, it was all worth it,” Ribovics (14-1) exclaimed following the bout, speaking to media outlets including Cageside Press at The Sphere. “Physically, I feel like sh*t.”
Ribovics vs. Zellhuber started out as a technical striking battle, and a razor-close one at that. In the third round, the fight erupted into chaos, a wild brawl ensuing that saw both men hurt. Ribovics shed light on his thought process heading into the third.
“I saw that the second round could have gone either way, so I knew I had to go out full-on in the third round, and that’s what I did. That elbow knocked me down, but I managed to get up and all I could think was about, ‘keep connecting hands, keep landing. I’ve got to keep punching, keep going forward.'”
Throughout MMA history, opponents in “classic” match-ups like the UFC 306 Fight of the Night have remained linked, often booked into rematches down the line. With both Ribovics and Zellhuber young in their respective careers, that’s a very real possibility. It’s also one Esteban Ribovics is open to.
“It would be fantastic, an honor to share the octagon with him again. So maybe yeah. Maybe we can go fight again in the future when we’re both stronger,” he stated. “I love this kind of fight, I love the fight. I like this kind of fight where I take punches and I give punches. I would be a good, definitely, fight for the future.”
Watch the full UFC 306 post-fight press scrum with Esteban Ribovics above.
