The main event of a late start UFC Fight Night 218 card Saturday night saw Serghei Spivac submit Derrick Lewis in the first round. Spivac was able to impose his smothering ground game on Lewis and landed devastating ground and pound before finishing him off with an Arm Triangle. Also, on the main card veteran UFC Heavyweights Marcin Tybura and Blagoy Ivanov went the distance in a hard-fought contest. The UFC Fight Night 218 prelims were filled with top international talent including undefeated Japanese Flyweight Tatsuro Taira.
#12 Serghei Spivac (16-3) Def. #7 Derrick Lewis (26-11)
Serghei Spivac is starting to make a name for himself inside the Heavyweight division. In his first main event, Spivac was able to finish former title challenger Derrick Lewis with relative ease. Spivac is one of the best grapplers in his weight class and may pose stylistic problems to some of the Heavyweight Elite. Lewis was coming off back-to-back knockout losses and desperately needed a win to stay inside the UFC top ten rankings.
In round one Lewis came out noticeably more aggressive than in his last two fights. Lewis threw multiple powerful right hands to try and get Spivac to back up. As Lewis overcommitted on a big right hand Spivac landed a well-timed takedown. From this position, Lewis was unable to get back to his feet. Spivac punished Lewis with damaging punches on the ground and multiple submission attempts. Three minutes into the first round Spivac locked in a submission that forced Lewis to tap. This was the most dominant and impressive performance of Serghei Spivac’s young career.
At 28 years old Spivac is in the prime of his career and has positioned himself for a massive fight in the UFC’s Heavyweight division. With this victory, Spivac should be in the top ten rankings next week. I would like to see Spivac fight No. 4 Curtis Blaydes (17-3). This would be an interesting matchup between the two best wrestlers in the Heavyweight division. Spivac has had success in his UFC career against striking heavy opponents, but a potential match with Blaydes would test his full skill set.
#10 Marcin Tybura (24-7) Def. Blagoy Ivanov (19-5)
A main card matchup of UFC veteran Heavyweights Marcin Tybura and Blagoy Ivanov was highly competitive throughout. Tybura had won six of his last seven coming into this fight and holds many victories over talented opposition. Ivanov is a tough competitor who has never been finished in the UFC. Both fighters are known for their grappling, Tybura is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt, while Ivanov is an international master of sport in combat sambo.
In round one Tybura used good movement popping jabs from the outside and circling away from Ivanov at distance. Ivanov would pressure forward but Tybura was too fast for him to land anything clean. Tybura again picked Ivanov apart in round two this time using leg kicks to outpoint his opponent. In the first minute of round three Tybura landed a takedown on Ivanov, who seemed to be exhausted. Tybura was able to transition around Ivanov and gain back control where he maintained a dominant position until the end of the fight.
With this victory, Tybura has positioned himself into a potential future main event. Next week Tybura will be firmly ranked inside the division’s top 10 and have interesting options ahead of him. I would like to see Tybura matched up against No. 9 Jairzinho Rozenstruik. This would be an interesting striker vs grappler matchup that could headline a UFC Fight Night card.
UFC Fight Night 218 Prelims:
The UFC Fight Night 218 Prelims were filled with up-and-coming international talent. To start the prelims undefeated Japanese prospect Tatsuro Taira made quick work of Jesus Aguilar, submitting him in the first round. Taira is an intriguing prospect at 125 pounds and is just 23 years old. Also, on the prelims Dooho Choi made his return to the octagon after a three-year layoff. Choi fought Kyle Nelson to a decision with one judge favoring Choi and the other two scoring the fight a draw. Nelson was able to land 5 takedowns throughout the fight but was significantly out struck on the feet by Choi. This was a very hard fight to score as a judge, with both fighters having their moments. Choi looked in tremendous shape and refocused after his lengthy layoff. MMA fans will be waiting to see who Choi will fight next.
Next week the UFC will have a massive two-title fight PPV card from Perth, Australia.
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