Sergehi Spivac wasted little time exacting revenge on Marcin Tybura.
The Moldovan made short work of Tybura in the UFC on ESPN 61 headliner, submitting his Polish opponent in the opening stanza of their heavyweight encounter at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday night. An armbar from Spivac (17-4, 8-4 UFC) elicited a verbal tap from Tybura (25-9, 12-8) at the 1:44 mark of Round 1. “The Polar Bar” has finished 15 of his 17 career triumphs — including 11 inside a round. Tybura defeated Spivac via unanimous decision in their initial meeting at UFC Fight Night 169 in February 2020.
Spivac closed the distance quickly and made his way to Tybura’s back early in the fight. However, Tybura was able to reverse into top position shortly thereafter. That success proved to be short lived, as Spivac worked his guard up, flipped his opponent over and locked in the decisive hold.
Spivac has won four of his last five promotional appearances, while Tybura has dropped two of his last three.
Mariscal Overwhelms Jackson
Takedowns, scrambling ability and a steady stream of ground-and-pound carried Jose Mariscal to a lopsided unanimous decision triumph against Damon Jackson at featherweight. “Chepe” received tallies of 30-25, 30-25 and 30-26 for his seventh consecutive professional triumph. Jackson (23-7-1, 6-5-1, 1 NC UFC) has lost three of his last four Octagon appearances. Much of the fight was contested in the clinch early on, and Jackson held his own against the judoka for the majority of the opening stanza. Mariscal (17-6, 1 NC, 4-0 UFC), who missed weight by 3.5 pounds, gradually began to assert himself, battering his foe with dirty boxing in close quarters and landing multiple takedowns. Once the combatants were on the canvas, the Elevation Fight Team member made Jackson carry his weight while unloading with punches from various angles. Mariscal appeared to be on the verge of a finish late in the bout, but a battered Jackson was able to survive until the final horn.
Barlow Edges Veretennikov
Memphis native Danny Barlow kept his undefeated record intact with a split verdict over Kazakhstan’s Nikolay Veretennikov in a welterweight scrap. Two judges scored the contest 29-28 in favor of Barlow (9-0, 2-0 UFC), while a third saw it 30-27 for Veretennikov (12-5, 0-1 UFC). Barlow missed weight by 0.25 pounds on Friday.
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In a low-output affair, Barlow appeared to land the strikes of consequences over the course of the first 10 minutes. He enjoyed periodic success with kicks to the body and occasionally found a home for his powerful left hand, though he was never able to significantly hurt his adversary. Veretennikov upped his aggression somewhat in the final frame, as he was able to connect more consistently with punches down the stretch. It wasn’t enough to get the nod on the scorecards, however.
Gutierrez Holds Off Short-Notice Foe Le
Factory X product Chris Gutierrez weathered a game effort from Quang Le, taking a unanimous decision in a featured bantamweight contest. All three cageside judges submitted 29-28 tallies in favor of Gutierrez (21-6-2, 9-3-1), who rebounds from a loss to Yadong Song this past December.
Le (8-1, 0-1 UFC), who was a short-notice replacement for Javid Basharat, had his moments in Round 2, when he jumped on Gutierrez’s back and spent a decent portion of the period in top position. However, “El Guapa controlled the first and third frames with his trademark low kicks and timely counter punching. Le was unable to replicate his success down the stretch as Gutierrez gradually grew more comfortable at range.
Santos Snaps Three-Bout Skid
Former Invicta FC title holder Yana Santos ended a three-fight losing streak, as she cruised past Chelsea Chandler via unanimous decision in a bantamweight affair. All three judges scored the contest in favor of the Russian veteran: 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28. Chandler (6-3, 2-2 UFC) missed weight by five pounds on Friday. Santos (15-8, 1 NC 5-5 UFC) had a clear edge in striking exchanges. She attacked with kicks to all levels and floored her opponent with a straight right hand early in the second frame. Chandler’s only course of action was to punch her way into the clinch, but despite the weight miss, the Stockton, Calif., native didn’t appear to have strength advantage. In close quarters, Santos was able to land knees or elbows and disengage with relatively little difficulty.
Kazama Earns First UFC Win, Taps Grigoriou
Toshiomi Kazama kept his cool under heavy fire, and the end result was his first UFC triumph.
The 27-year-old Pancrase veteran survived a second-round surge from Charalampos Grigoriou and rallied to submit his foe with a triangle choke at the 1:55 mark of Round 2 in a bantamweight bout. It’s the sixth career submission victory for “The Silent Finisher.”
After Kazama (11-4, 1-2 UFC) controlled Round 1 with his grappling, Grigoriou (8-5, 0-2 UFC) came out with a sense of urgency in the second stanza. The Longo and Weidman MMA product pressured his Japanese adversary and dropped him with a big left hand early in the period. Grigoriou then assumed top position and dropped a series of thudding elbows on a reeling Kazama. When the finish didn’t arrive, Grigoriou fatigued badly, allowing Kazama to secure the fight-ending maneuver.
