For a second consecutive UFC Fight Night event set in the APEX, it’s heavyweight sluggers set to fill the main event slot as fan fave “Bam Bam” Tai Tuivasa will attempt to snap his current losing streak when he faces Marcin Tybura in a scheduled five-round bout Saturday.
Tuivasa is among the more popular heavyweights on the UFC roster and, in addition to his knockout power, has become known for his unique way of celebrating his victories.
You can watch the interview with Tuivasa and Aaron Bronsteter at the top of the page to get a deeper understanding of his “Shoey” ritual, but also know that he hasn’t been able to do a proper post-victory celebration in more than two years.
Tuivasa is on the second three-fight losing streak of his UFC career and hasn’t won since his knockout of Derrick Lewis at UFC 271. Since then, the Australian power puncher has been finished by top-tier heavyweight contenders Cyril Gane, Sergei Pavlovich and Alexander Volkov.
Tybura is in a similar position, coming off a 63-second loss to current interim champion Tom Aspinall last July, looking to reassert himself as a relevant player at heavyweight.
The 38-year-old Tybura is 7-2 since 2020 and boasts a more well-rounded skill set than his 30-year-old opponent who is 1-3 in bouts that end in submissions or decisions and 14-3 in fights that end by KO/TKO.
“I’m not going to be able to bring anything he hasn’t seen before,” Tuivasa said Wednesday.
Tybura said he knows very well Tuivasa’s best path to victory and will “do my best to keep my face away from his hands” as he put it when speaking to reporters at Wednesday’s media day.
Both headliners are seasoned fighters who know what to expect Saturday and now it’s simply a matter of which athlete can implement their game plan more effectively – and whose chin holds up better.
Tybura is 3-0 when competing at the UFC APEX; Tuivasa has only fought at the venue once before when he picked up a 49-second KO of Harry Hunsucker three years ago. This pair was originally scheduled to square off at UFC 298 in February but the bout was moved off that card to fill a headline slot for this event.
UNDERCARD OVERVIEW
Which co-main fighter will extend their streak to three?
Saturday’s penultimate bout is a scheduled 170-pound contest between Bryan Battle and Ange Loosa. Battle is riding the momentum of consecutive stoppages of Gabe Green and AJ Fletcher, while Loosa has earned back-to-back unanimous decision wins over Fletcher and Rhys McKee. Both 29-year-old welterweights have already gotten a taste of two of the best rising welterweights. Battle’s only loss in the UFC was a unanimous decision to the touted Rinat Fakhretdinov; all three of Loosa’s losses were via decision and one of which was to No. 5 ranked Jack Della Maddalena.
Canadian under pressure to open the card
Chad Anheliger has his back against the wall heading into his 135-pound tilt with Ray Longo pupil Charalampos Grigoriou. These two will kick off the early prelims. Grigoriou is coming in hot off a 60-second knockout on Dana White’s Contender Series last summer, while Anheliger knows he could very well be fighting for a spot on the UFC roster. The Alberta bantamweight dropped a decision to Alatengheili Alateng in 2022 and was submitted with 11 seconds remaining in his bout with Jose Johnson this past November.
Will Meerschaert tie Silva’s record?
No, not all wins are created equal in the UFC. However, racking up double-digit stoppage wins in the middleweight division is an incredible accomplishment no matter how you slice it. Gerald Meerschaert, who faces Bryan Barberena on the main card, is one of two fighters with 10 or more stoppage wins at 185 pounds with former longtime champion Anderson Silva being the other. Meerschaert has 10 finishes (nine submissions and one technical knockout), while Silva finished his UFC career with 11 finishes as a middleweight (eight by KO/TKO, three submissions).
Meerschaert is favoured to beat Barberena who has been submitted only three times in his mixed martial arts career. Two of those occurrences, though, were to Rafael dos Anjos in 2022 and Gunnar Nelson in 2023.
Below is the full 13-fight fight card and projected bout order:
MAIN CARD
— Tai Tuivasa vs. Marcin Tybura
— Bryan Battle vs. Ange Loosa
— Ovince Saint Preux vs. Kennedy Nzechukwu
— Pannie Kianzad vs. Macy Chiasson
— Gerald Meerschaert vs. Bryan Barberena
— Christian Rodriguez vs. Isaac Dulgarian
PRELIMINARY CARD
— Thiago Moisés vs. Mitch Ramirez
— Natan Levy vs. Mike Davis
— Josiane Nunes vs. Chelsea Chandler
— Jafel Filho vs. Ode’ Osbourne
— Josh Culibao vs. Danny Silva
— Cory McKenna vs. Jaqueline Amorin
— Charalampos Grigoriou vs. Chad Anheliger