Marcin Tybura vs Blagoy Ivanov is one of the hottest matchups of UFC Fight Night 218, an event taking place this coming Saturday in Vegas
Marcin Tybura and Blagoy Ivanov are two veteran heavyweights who think they deserve more praise in the UFC. Tybura is currently 10th in the divisional rankings with an overall career record of 23-7. Ivanov is sitting in 15th place, with a 19-4-1 career record. Whoever wins the fight on February 4 is likely to go up in the UFC rankings, as well as get a chance to fight an even tougher opponent next time.
When, Where, and How to Watch?
Place: UFC Apex in Vegas
Date: Saturday, February 4, 2023
Time: ~7:00 PM ET
How to Watch: UFC Fight Pass/ESPN+
Marcin Tybura Ready for Another Grinding
The Polish fighter lost just one of the seven fights he’s fought since the start of the decade. The loss in question happened to Alexander Volkov who beat him by decision. In his most recent fight, Tybura defeated Alexander Romanov by the same method. In fact, 11 of Tybura’s pro fights ended this way (eight were wins).
Add to that the fact that seven of his 23 wins happened by technical knockout, and you’ll understand what kind of a fighter Tybura is. Rather than going for a finish in the first round, he likes to bully his opponents for all 15 minutes.
He’s a grinder who lands a lot of strikes, with his average being 3.61 significant strikes per minute. Tybura also often tries to take the opponent down. He’s now always successful (his TD accuracy is 32%), but he does end up making 1.42 TDs per fight.
Blagoy Ivanov Doesn’t Get Grinded
Sure, all UFC fighters are tough as nails, but Ivanov is special. The Bulgarian fighter never stops fighting even when facing a much stronger rival. The former PFL and WSOF champion is great defensively, while also having decent stamina for a heavyweight. As a result, he’s incredibly hard to beat inside the distance.
The evidence of this is that even though he’s lost three fights since joining the UFC, he’s without a defeat inside the distance in this competition. Actually, Ivanov has only one loss before the final bell – Alexander Volkov defeated him by submission at Bellator 120 in 2014.
Still not convinced that Ivanov is one of the toughest fighters in the world? If so, here’s one fun fact for you. Back in 2012, Ivanov was the victim of a knife attack, in which he suffered a lung puncture. Doctors spend six hours fighting for his life and he stayed in critical condition for about a month and a half. He barely survived the incident, but that didn’t make him give up on his MMA dream.
In 2013, he returned to the ring, winning by submission in his comeback fight. Then, he went on to win another eight fights in various promotions (while losing just one), which is what got him on the radar of UFC promoters.
Marcin Tybura vs Blagoy Ivanov Prediction
We don’t think either of these fighters has the ability to finish the other one. Instead, we think this fight will drag on until the final bell. Don’t get us wrong, we don’t think this is going to be a slug fest, but we also don’t think we’ll witness a spectacular finish.
