This past Saturday night in the main event of UFC Vegas 88, we saw a heavyweight battle. The popular Tai Tuivasa (15-7) was looking to get back in the win column as he was taking on top ten contender Marcin Tybura (25-8).
For Tybura, he was looking to bounce back after his last fight. Prior to Saturday night, Tybura last fought the now interim champion Tom Aspinall. It was a rough fight for Tybura who was stopped in the first round. That loss snapped a two-fight win streak. Overall, Tybura was 7-2 in his last nine fights leading to Saturday night.
Tybura’s game plan was pretty easy to detect at UFC Vegas 88. He had to get the fight to the ground. If he didn’t, it was likely that he was going to get stopped by the powerful Tuivasa. Things looked bad early on in the fight and Tuivasa landed some massive shots that bloodied up Tybura.
However, Tybura hung in there and ultimately got a takedown. From there, it was all downhill for Tuivasa. Tybura went through his defenses on the ground and secured a choke. Tuivasa wouldn’t tap so Tybura put him to sleep getting the huge win at UFC Vegas 88.
What’s next after UFC Vegas 88?
With this latest win, Tybura is now 8-2 in his last ten fights and he’s back on track with a win. When the rankings coming out this week, you should see Tybura in the top eight given his recent run. With that in mind, there’s a guy currently around that spot that seems like the perfect opponent.
If you’re asking me, the perfect opponent for Tybura is Jailton Almeida. Almeida looked like a monster who was destined for a UFC title shot. However, he failed to impress in his win against Derrick Lewis last year and was given essentially a title eliminator against Curtis Blaydes just over a week ago at UFC 299.
Almeida looked dominant in the first round but shot for a sloppy takedown in the second and was stopped by big shots from Blaydes. Stylistically, this is an intriguing matchup given both mens’ skills in the grappling department. It’s a fight that makes sense and would test both men. Don’t be shocked to see them go in this direction.