UFC 298 is starting to fill out and today we learned of a banger of a fight that will feature two great heavyweights. The promotion announced overnight that “Bam Bam” Tai Tuivasa (15-6) would be returning in February as he takes on Marcin Tybura (24-8).
UFC 298 goes down on February 17th and is headlined by another Australian in featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski. That said, let’s start talking about this announcement discussing Marcin Tybura. Tybura will be looking to bounce back after a tough loss in his last fight.
Back in July, Tybura took on current interim champ Tom Aspinall in London. The fight didn’t go well and Tybura got knocked out in the first round. The loss was just Tybura’s second loss in his last nine fights. Dating back to 2020, Tybura is 7-2 with the two losses being to Aspinall and Alexander Volkov. He’ll have a big opportunity at UFC 298 to get a win over a big name in Tuivasa.
UFC 298
For the second time in his professional career, Tai Tuivasa is riding a three-fight losing streak. From 2018-2019, Tuivasa lost three straight fights and was on the verge of being cut by the UFC. However, he turned things around in a huge way winning five straight fights all by knockout.
The highlight of the stretch was knocking out the heavyweight knockout king Derrick Lewis last February. However, since that win over The Black Beast, Tuivasa hasn’t won. He was stopped by Ciryl Gane and Sergei Pavlovich to close out 2022. Then, he returned in September to face Alexander Volkov at UFC 293 in Australia.
It wasn’t the homecoming that Tuivasa was looking for and he was submitted in the second round. Now, he’ll look to get back on track and get a big knockout win. If he can keep the fight standing, it’s a favorable matchup and he desperately needs a win.