Marcin Tybura returned to winning form in the UFC by submitting Tai Tuivasa in the heavyweight main event of a Fight Night at the APEX Facility in Las Vegas on the morning of Sunday 17 March.
Tybura, who moves to 25-8 in his professional MMA career, was stopped by Tom Aspinall in July last year and very nearly succumbed early on to a flurry of strikes from Tuivasa.
However, the Pole weathered the early storm, secured a takedown, sunk in a choke and put Tuivasa to sleep – securing a technical submission win at 4:08 on the clock in Round 1.
“I feel awesome because I think it was an exciting fight," Tybura said after the fight. "Many things happened in this one and I got a win over a very strong opponent.”
The rest of the main card saw a welterweight match between Bryan Battle and Ange Loosa end in a No Contest after an accident eye poke; Ovince Saint Preux defeated Nigeria’s Kennedy Nzechukwu via split decision in a light heavyweight clash; Christian Rodriguez did the same to Isaac Dulgarian in a featherweight fight; Macy Chiasson submitted Pannie Kianzad in the women’s bantamweight division; and the middleweight opener saw Gerald Meerschaert score a technical submission win over Bryan Barberena.
The UFC continues next Sunday, 24 March, with a Fight Night at the APEX Facility headlined by a women’s flyweight clash between Rose Namajunas and Amanda Ribas.
UFC Fight Night: Tuivasa v Tybura – Main card results
- Main event: Heavyweight: Marcin Tybura def. Tai Tuivasa via technical submission (rear-naked choke), R1, 4:08
- Welterweight: Bryan Battle v Ange Loosa – No Contest (accidental eye poke), R2, 1:00
- Light heavyweight: Ovince Saint Preux def. Kennedy Nzechukwu via split decision (29-28 28-29 29-28), R3, 5:00
- Featherweight: Christian Rodriguez def. Isaac Dulgarian via split decision (27-28, 28-27 28-27), R3, 5:00
- Women’s bantamweight: Macy Chiasson def. Pannie Kianzad via submission (rear-naked choke), R1, 3:54
- Middleweight: Gerald Meerschaert def. Bryan Barberena via technical submission (neck crank), R2, 4:23