Esteban Ribovics meets King Green this Saturday, October 3, at UFC 332 inside the Delta Center in Salt Lake City. To handle the city’s altitude, the Argentine reworked his camp weeks before the fight.
Weeks in a Hyperbaric Chamber
Esteban Ribovics, nicknamed “El Gringo” and carrying a 16-3 record, slept in a hyperbaric chamber for weeks before leaving for Utah. “I actually slept for a couple of weeks in a hyperbaric chamber,” he said. The device simulates oxygen-depleted air, a way to get the body used to conditions close to those found at altitude before even setting foot in the state. The goal is simple: arrive in Salt Lake City with a body already partly adapted, rather than feeling the effects of thin air in the final days before the fight.
Ten Days Early, With Mountain Runs
The Argentine lightweight did not stop there. He landed in Utah ten days before the event to keep adjusting on site. “I came in 10 days before just to be acclimated to it,” he explained. Ribovics rounded out his preparation with mountain runs around Salt Lake City. “I actually ran in the mountains, so I’m feeling good,” he added, sounding confident heading into fight week. The combination, a chamber before travel and mountain runs on arrival, shows the kind of attention fighters who do not live at elevation increasingly give to this detail.
King Green, a Division Veteran
Across the cage, Ribovics faces King Green, who carries a 36-17-1 record. The two lightweights meet on the main card of UFC 332. The experience gap is clear: Green has fought far more times at the highest level than his opponent, and that experience looms as one of the storylines of the night against the physical freshness Ribovics is banking on. Green’s measured, battle-tested style, built over years inside the promotion, contrasts with the forward pace Ribovics says he plans to bring.
Chasing a Performance Bonus
Ribovics is not hiding his intentions heading into the Octagon. “I am made for the bonus,” he said, leaning into an aggressive approach aimed at a performance bonus. The Ribovics-Green bout sits on the main card of UFC 332, which starts at 8 p.m. ET (2 a.m. in Paris, overnight from October 3 into October 4). Early prelims begin at 4 p.m. ET, followed by the prelims at 6 p.m. ET, ahead of the main card later that evening.
A Card Headlined by Natalia Silva
The card is headlined by a women’s title fight between Natalia Silva and Wang Cong at flyweight. In the co-main event, Deiveson Figueiredo meets Payton Talbott at bantamweight. Those two bouts bookend the Ribovics-Green fight, which will have to carve out its own share of attention on a night already loaded with championship stakes.
Why Altitude Worries Fighters
Altitude remains a factor fighters who do not train at elevation tend to dread. Relatively thin air can slow recovery between rounds and speed up fatigue in a high-paced fight, which is why more athletes now move their arrival date up or turn to tools like hyperbaric chambers. Ribovics’ approach reflects the growing professionalization of physical preparation, alongside choices like camp location or game plan.
A Test Against a Proven Veteran
A bonus-earning win over a name as established as King Green would mark another step for Ribovics in the lightweight division, one of the deepest in the UFC. Green, for his part, is looking to prove his experience still carries weight against younger, more mobile opponents. The outcome of this UFC 332 main card bout will show whether Ribovics can turn a carefully built camp into a result against a veteran of that caliber.
A Deep, Competitive Division
The matchup is contested at lightweight, the 155-pound (70.3 kg) limit, one of the UFC’s deepest and most competitive divisions. Ribovics has built his case on volume striking and output, while Green’s longevity in the division gives him a different kind of edge: a deep library of opponents and styles to draw from mid-fight. That contrast between a hungry, younger striker and a seasoned veteran is part of what UFC matchmakers look for when building out a card already carrying two title fights.
Every Variable Under the Microscope
For Ribovics, the extra preparation around altitude is also a signal of how closely fighters now study every variable outside the gym, from travel schedules to sleep environment. Whether that attention to detail translates into an extra gear on fight night, in front of a Delta Center crowd watching two marquee bouts on the same bill, is what Saturday will answer.
