Marcin Tybura weathered a storm on Saturday night. He has the wounds to prove it. Tybura endured an early flurry from Tai Tuivasa at UFC Fight Night in Las Vegas before shutting him down and putting him to sleep.
Tuivasa drew blood early with a flurry of elbows and punches in the clinch. Tybura, sporting a cut on his forehead, frantically pursued the takedown and found it soon after. It was downhill from there for Tuivasa. The Australian fighter looked like a bobblehead eating punch after punch from his back. Tybura patiently sunk in a choke and eventually put Tuivasa to sleep.
The quick stoppage is sure to boost Tybura’s morale. The Polish heavyweight admittedly struggled with motivation after losing to Tom Aspinall in 63 seconds last July. Tybura has strung together a credible 8-2 run with the losses coming to Aspinall, who since became interim UFC heavyweight champion, and Alexander Volkov, who is ranked No. 6 by the promotion.
“I feel awesome because I think it was an exciting fight,” Tybura said in a backstage video captured by the UFC. “Many things happened in this one and I got a win over a very strong opponent.”
Tuivasa (14-7) is on a career-worst four-fight skid, but the Tybura loss is arguably a step down from his prior losses. Tuivasa has been stopped by Tybura, Volkov, Sergei Pavlovich and Ciryl Gane in the last 18 months.
