King Green accuses Herb Dean of early stoppage after being dropped at UFC 332

King Green left UFC 332 on Saturday night frustrated not just by the result, but by the man who ended it. The veteran lightweight was stopped in the first round by Esteban Ribovics in Utah, and took to Instagram afterwards to air his grievances at referee Herb Dean, whom he believes intervened too soon.

“Wow oh wow, sheesh. Great fight, shit happens,” Green wrote. “I told myself regardless or not, I’m not going to be mad at myself but I’m a little mad. I told Herb, this is going to get sticky. Let me go out on my shield. I was still fine. I wanted to keep fighting. I feel like we were getting somewhere. It was a great fight.”

Ribovics dropped Green several times in succession, with Dean watching closely throughout. It was the final knockdown — Green falling to the canvas for the last time — that prompted the veteran referee to wave it off. Green was never rendered unconscious, but he was in clear and serious trouble, and Dean made the judgment call to prevent him from absorbing further punishment.

The timing of the loss makes it particularly costly. Green had arrived at UFC 332 on the back of four consecutive victories, and UFC CEO Dana White had recently floated him as a natural candidate for the “BMF” championship. That trajectory now appears to be on hold, with a title shot unlikely in the near term following the defeat.

Despite the result, Green drew one of the loudest and most enthusiastic reactions of the night from the Utah crowd, suggesting his standing with fight fans remains intact. If the reception is any indication, a return to contention may not require as long a road as the loss might otherwise imply.