Blagoy Ivanov vs Marcin Tybura slated for UFC Fight Night 218
We’ve got an exciting heavyweight clash going down next month to look forward to, as 36-year-old Judo black belt Blagoy Ivanov (19-4) faces 37-year-old Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Marcin Tybura (23-7) at UFC Fight Night 218.
UFC Fight Night 218 is to go down on February 4, 2023, live from the UFC Apex in Enterprise, Nevada.
This will be a great showcase of Polish MMA (Tybura) versus Bulgarian MMA (Ivanov).
Both of these men were champions prior to joining the UFC’s roster; Ivanov held the WSOF heavyweight championship, and Tybura held the M-1 Challenge heavyweight championship.
No. 15 ranked heavyweight contender Blagoy Ivanov had four successful title defenses with that title prior to becoming part of the UFC’s roster and came over in 2018 with a record of 16-1. He’d lose to former UFC heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos in his promotional debut, before winning back-to-back fights against the likes of Ben Rothwell and Tai Tuivasa.
However, a pair of razor-thin split decision defeats would soon follow, dropping them to Derrick Lewis and Augusto Sakai, before rebounding with a unanimous decision win over Marcos Rogerio de Lima in May of last year.
Ivanov is also an International Master of Sport in Combat Sambo, and he even defeated Fedor Emelianenko in a World Combat Sambo Championships match, as he took home the gold medal in 2008 with Emelianenko taking home bronze.
No. 10 ranked heavyweight contender Marcin Tybura on the other hand defended his M-1 title twice prior to joining the UFC and came over with a record of 13-1. Following a unanimous decision defeat to Timothy Johnson in his promotional debut, Tybura would then win his next three-straight, before going 1-4 over his next five, being knocked out in the latter three defeats.
Tybura had a bit of a resurgence following this span, as he went on to win his next five-straight fights before losing to fellow former M-1 champion, and former Bellator heavyweight champion Alexander Volkov.
Since then, Tybura has fought just once, where he became the first man to ever defeat former EFC heavyweight champion Alexander Romanov, who was 16-0 (5-0 UFC) with 15 finishes going into their fight.
Who comes out the victor in this heavyweight clash?
If you enjoyed this piece, feel free to share it on social media!
