Daniel
Zellhuber (15-1) is confident that he’ll hand Esteban
Ribovics (13-1) his first knockout loss at UFC
306.
Advertisement
Zellhuber faces Argentina’s Ribovics on Saturday at the Sphere in
Las Vegas. The Mexican has racked up a three-fight winning streak
after suffering his lone career loss against Trey Ogden
in his
UFC debut in 2022. And self-confidence is one aspect Zellhuber
has benefitted the most in from this winning streak. “Golden Boy”
admits he even had doubts about whether he truly belonged in the
UFC after his foiled debut. However, Zellhuber has since been
growing in confidence to the point where he now promises to finish
Ribovics for the first time at UFC 306.
“I feel that the most important thing that I’ve been finding is
self confidence,” Zellhuber told UFC.com. “When you get to the UFC and your
first fight is a defeat, that is in my case, I feel that that kind
of breaks you mentally a little bit. But I feel that after I lost
that fight I was struggling with the thoughts of maybe belonging
here in the UFC. Now after three fight win streak, the way that
I’ve been winning, the way that I’m evolving in the gym, with the
training partners and everything, I feel that I’m just more
dangerous and ever. Because I know who I am and I am confident in
my skillset.
“I’m gonna be the first one to knock out Esteban Ribovics. And I’ve
been visualizing this, I’ve been manifesting this and I know it’s
gonna happen… that’s why I’m saying I’m gonna knock him out. It’s
not because I’m trying to be cocky, it’s because I truly believe
that I’m working to get that knockout.”
O’Malley vs. Dvalishvili Saturday at 10 ET on ESPN+. Order
Now!
Meanwhile, Ribovics also suffered his lone career loss in his UFC
debut against Loik
Radzhabov at UFC 285 last year. The
Dana White’s Contender Series graduate has since racked up
back-to-back wins, most recently against Terrance
McKinney via a 37-second head-kick KO this past May.
If he gets past Ribovics, Zellhuber would preferably fight another
unranked opponent before taking on Top 15 lightweights. However,
“Golden Boy” will be ready for a ranked opponent if the promotion
considers him deserving of one.
“I still don’t [want] a Top 15 [opponent] just because I’m 25 years
old. But of course with this being said, I feel that after I win at
the Sphere, I might just be one fight away or I might get a Top 15
right away,” he said. “With the UFC you never know. I’m just ready
for whatever the UFC puts on the table. If they believe I’m already
good for a Top 15, I might take the fight. If they give me one more
fight, it’ll be good for me, it’s more experience.”
Still early in his career, Zellhuber is in no rush to get to the
top of the ladder. Zellhuber believes that while fast tracking
one’s career could land them in the Top 5, they often end up at a
crossroads there. The Mexican prospect would much rather face a
step up in competition one level at a time and build his
experience.
“Nowadays everybody wants to do it fast, but I feel that it’s
better to go step by step… I feel that Esteban is just one step
above my last fight and then my next fight need to be one step
[higher],” Zellhuber said. “I’m comfortable doing that way because
that allows me to keep growing and keep learning and keep evolving.
And I feel that that’s what you need to do in order to have a
successful career here in UFC. Because if you start rushing into
fights, you might be good and you might do it at Top 5 but once
you’re in the Top 5, you can go back but if you can’t get past the
Top 5 then you’re in a tough spot. That’s why I’d rather do it one
step at a time.”