Sergey Spivac soon exacted revenge on Marcin Tybura.
The Moldovan handily defeated Tybura in the main event of UFC on ESPN 61, submitting his Polish opponent in the opening heavyweight showdown at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday night. Spivak (17-4 MMA, 8-4 UFC) used an armbar to force Tybura (25-9 MMA, 12-8 MMA) to verbally tap at 1 minute, 44 seconds into the first round. “The Polar Bar” has finished 15 of his 17 career wins, including 11 victories within the first round. Tybura first faced Spivak at UFC Fight Ngiht 169 in February 2020, winning by unanimous decision.
Spivak quickly closed the distance on Tybura and got behind him early in the bout, but Tybura quickly got back into top position. That success didn’t last long, as Spivak tightened his guard, flipped his opponent over and secured the decisive hold.
Spivak has won four of his last five promotional appearances, while Tybura has lost two of his last three.
Mariscal beats Jackson
Takedowns, scrambling ability and a flurry of ground-and-pound led Jose Mariscal to a one-sided unanimous decision victory over Damon Jackson in the featherweight division. “Chepe” secured his seventh straight professional victory by scores of 30-25, 30-25, 30-26. Jackson (23-7-1, 6-5-1, 1 UFC Uncut) had lost three of his previous four appearances in the Octagon. Much of the bout was fought in the early clinch, with Jackson holding his own against the judoka for much of the opening round. Underweight by 3.5 pounds, Mariscal (17-6, 1 Uncut, 4-0 UFC) gradually began to show his strength, outworking his opponent with dirty boxing in close quarters and scoring multiple takedowns. As both men collapsed to the canvas, the Elevation Fight Team members had Jackson support his weight while landing punches from multiple angles. Mariscal appeared on the verge of finishing the fight late in the bout, but a tired Jackson held on until the final horn.
Barlow Edges Veretennikov
Memphis’ Danny Barlow maintained his unbeaten record with a decision victory over Kazakhstan’s Nikolay Veretennikov in a welterweight bout. Two judges scored the fight 29-28 in favor of Barlow (9-0, 2-0 UFC) and the third judge scored the fight 30-27 in favor of Veretennikov (12-5, 0-1 UFC). Barlow missed weight by .25 pounds on Friday.
In a low-output bout, Barlow appeared to land some decisive strikes in the first 10 minutes, finding regular success with kicks to the body and occasionally landing powerful left hands, but failing to do much damage to his opponent. Veretennikov stepped up his aggression somewhat in the final round, landing his punches more consistently in the closing stages, but it wasn’t enough to secure the victory on the scorecards.
Gutierrez blocks last-minute opponent Le
Factory X alum Chris Gutierrez withstood a fierce onslaught from Quang Le to win by unanimous decision in a highly-anticipated bantamweight bout. The three cageside judges had the decision scored 29-28 in favor of Gutierrez (21-6-2, 9-3-1), who is making a comeback following a loss to Yadong Song last December.
Le (8-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC), a last-minute replacement for Javaid Basharat, got in on the action, jumping on Gutierrez’s back in the second round and spending a significant portion of the period in top position. But “El Guapa” dominated the first and third rounds with his trademark low kicks and well-timed counterpunches. Le was unable to replicate his success in the closing stages as Gutierrez gradually closed the distance and settled down.
Santos ends three-game losing streak
Former Invicta FC titleholder Yana Santos ended a three-fight losing streak with a unanimous decision victory over Chelsea Chandler in the bantamweight division. All three judges scored the fight 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28 in favor of the Russian veteran. Chandler (6-3 MMA, 2-2 UFC) was five pounds underweight on Friday. Santos (15-8 MMA, 5-5 UFC, 1 NC) had the clear advantage in the striking exchange. She attacked with kicks to every level and took her opponent down with a straight right early in the second round. Chandler’s only option was to get into the clinch with punches, but despite being underweight, the Stockton, California, native did not appear to have a power advantage. In close quarters, Santos was able to break away with relative ease, landing knees and elbows.
Kazama’s first UFC win comes against Grigorio
Toshiomi Kazama remained calm despite the fierce attacks, ultimately earning his first UFC victory.
The 27-year-old Pancrase veteran withstood a fierce onslaught from Charalampos Grigoriou in the second round before submitting his opponent via triangle choke at 1 minute, 55 seconds into their bantamweight bout. It was the Silent Finisher’s sixth career submission victory.
After Kazama (11-4 MMA, 1-2 UFC) dominated the first round with his grappling, Grigoriov (8-5 MMA, 0-2 UFC) came in with urgency in the second stanza. The Longo and Weidman MMA alum put the pressure on his Japanese opponent, knocking him down with a big left punch early in the first period. Grigoriov then took top position and landed a series of powerful elbow strikes on a staggering Kazama. With the finish never coming, Grigoriov tired himself out, allowing Kazama the move that would have ended the bout.
