The main event on ESPN+ features a pairing of two heavyweight fighters who have had to trade hands with the bulk of the division.
Despite being criticized early on for his lack of striking presence, Marcin Tybura has steadily developed a kickboxing game since coming into the UFC.
Awkwardly prodding and dipping off of straight strikes, Tybura will casually add in power shots, varying between casting punches or hammerfists.
Like many Eastern European and Russian kickboxers, Tybura typically punctuates combinations with kicks off his lead leg. Tybura is also competent from both stances and will typically shift when coming forward.
I don’t know what Marcin Tybura keeps doing with his left hand but it gives me all the pop music video vibes from Paula Abdul to The Backstreet Boys…
The man fights like a puppeteer is controlling only his left wrist while the rest of his body has a jam session pic.twitter.com/Wef6AA5IWO
— Dan Tom (@DanTomMMA) July 20, 2023
Still, Tybura isn’t beyond being countered due to his strange defensive gestures and will need to be on his best behavior when trading with Tai Tuivasa.
From flying knees to crushing elbows, Tuivasa bears all the weapons to keep his opponents up at night. A former boxer and longtime training partner to Australia’s top fighters (which includes the likes of Mark Hunt and Tyson Pedro), Tuivasa carries a bit more experience than meets the eye.
Despite still having to cut a bit of weight to make the heavyweight limit, Tuivasa moves deceptively well for a man of his size. The former Rugby stud’s athleticism especially shines through with his ability to quickly close distances, going from flicking jabs to blitzing combinations at the drop of a dime.
Tuivasa can sometimes get lost and out of position during extended exchanges, but the 30-year-old has seemed to sharpen his kicks and counters since he split time between Thailand and his personalized training camps in Dubai (where he also worked with professional heavyweight kickboxers).
Now, it is not uncommon to see Tuivasa target the legs of his opponents with impunity – all while keeping hard, checking hooks in tow for anyone trying to enter off of his kicks. That said, I’m not sure how much Tuivasa will be kicking against his current counterpart given the Polish fighter’s propensity to catch and counter kicks.
This story originally appeared on MMA Junkie