Terrance McKinney vs. Esteban Ribovics is our prediction for UFC St. Louis Fight of the Night

The UFC makes their long-awaited return to St. Louis with an event headlined by fan favorite heavyweight Derrick Lewis who will be taking on rising Brazilian contender Rodrigo Nascimento. While this main event has the potential to produce a highlight knockout, another fight featured on the undercard is the likelier pick for the Fight of the Night.

Featured on the preliminary card, Terrance McKinney will be taking on Esteban Ribovics in what has all the potential to be the best fight at UFC St. Louis.

While this matchup between two unranked lightweight contenders may be flying under the radar, both McKinney and Ribovics have shown flashes of brilliance early into their careers. McKinney is the much more familiar fighter to the audience with his collection of impressive knockout victories including his near record seven second knockout of Matt Frevola from June 2021.

Ribovics is making his fourth appearance under the UFC banner with his first victory coming on Dana White's Contender Series from August 2022. A win over a popular name like McKinney would surely put him on a fast track to the lightweight rankings in the not so distant future.

For those unfamiliar with the relatively unknown lightweight contender, Ribovics is 12-1 as a professional and similar to McKinney, has a talent for finishing the fight inside the distance. In his last performance from July 2023 he was able to earn his first career decision victory and now looks to take on one of the most exciting fighters in the UFC lightweight division.

Terrance McKinney vs. Esteban Ribovics is our pick for UFC St. Louis Fight of the Night

Ribovics seems to be yet another exciting rising contender in the lightweight division to look out for, but for the most part, it will likely be up to McKinney to bring the fight forward like he usually does in order for this contest to be named fight of the night.

Throughout McKinney's entire professional mixed martial arts career, he has yet to see the judges final scorecards in any of his 21 appearances. His 15-6 record features seven wins by knockout and eight wins by submission with each of his six losses also being results of knockout or submission defeats.

His aforementioned seven second knockout against Frevola is the highlight of his UFC career thus far, but has a number of other impressive performances on his résumé. Inside the UFC, McKinney is officially 5-3 (plus one more appearance on Dana White's Contender Series resulting in a loss) with five first round finishes. Even more impressive is that of his 15 career victories, 14 have been decided in the first round.

While many of the other matchups at UFC St. Louis look to be highly competitive, high-level fights, it is fair to say that none have a greater potential for fireworks than the fight between McKinney and Ribovics.

McKinney is truly one of the most must-see fighters on the entire UFC roster with each of his fights almost guaranteeing a highlight reel finish. His fight against Ribovics is another example of an overlooked undercard matchup that is a great pick for the UFC St. Louis fight of the night.