King Green Rips Herb Dean's Stoppage After UFC 332 Loss to Ribovics

King Green walked into UFC 332 on a four-fight win streak with Dana White openly name-dropping him as a future 'BMF' title candidate. He walked out on the wrong end of a first-round stoppage against Esteban Ribovics — and a little salty about how it ended. After getting dropped repeatedly, Green hit the canvas one last time and veteran referee Herb Dean waved it off.

Green wasn't knocked out, but he was in deep trouble, and Dean made the call to pull him out before another knockdown landed. The veteran lightweight took to Instagram afterward to voice his frustration, saying he'd told Dean before the fight that things might get sticky and he wanted to go out on his shield. Green insisted he was still fine and felt like the fight was heading somewhere.

The Man Who Stopped the Streak

Ribovics has quietly become one of lightweight's most dangerous finishers. The win pushes him to 17-3 with nine knockouts, and it follows a highlight-reel second-round KO of Edson Barboza last time out. Two straight stoppage wins over recognizable names is the kind of run that forces the matchmakers to take notice, even if Ribovics remains unranked for now.

For Green, the timing stings. The four-fight streak was the hottest stretch of a long, winding UFC tenure, and it had him within shouting distance of a conversation he'd probably never expected — a 'BMF' title run. That door doesn't slam shut forever, but a first-round loss resets the clock on any title talk.

Where This Leaves Green

Here's the silver lining Green can hang onto: the Utah crowd gave him one of the loudest reactions of the night, win or lose. That matters. Green has always been a draw, and the UFC tends to keep fan-friendly fighters busy regardless of the record. He won't need much to rebuild momentum.

The 'BMF' picture, meanwhile, keeps moving without him. Charles Oliveira — 37-11 with 22 submissions and currently ranked #3 at lightweight — is set to put the belt up for grabs in December. Green's shot at that stage will have to wait. For now, he's left arguing a stoppage he lost, which is rarely a winning position, but it's a very King Green way to lose.