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UFC Fight Night: Tuivasa vs. Tybura
As fight fans lick their chops in anticipation of UFC 300 next month, we have a few Fight Night cards to nibble on over the next four weeks. The first card up is UFC Fight Night: Tuivasa vs. Tybura, which will take place this Saturday at 4 PM ET from the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Let’s take a look at the card details…
Event: UFC Vegas 88: “Tuivasa vs. Tybura”
Date: Sat., March 16, 2024
Location: UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada
Broadcast: ESPN+
Start Time: 4 p.m. ET Prelims | 7 p.m. ET Main Card
UFC Vegas 88 Main Card on ESPN+ (7 p.m. ET):
265 lbs.: Tai Tuivasa vs. Marcin Tybura
170 lbs.: Bryan Battle vs. Ange Loosa
205 lbs.: Ovince Saint Preux vs. Kennedy Nzechukwu
145 lbs.: Christian Rodriguez vs. Isaac Dulgarian
135 lbs.: Pannie Kianzad vs. Macy Chiasson
185 lbs.: Gerald Meerschaert vs. Bryan Barberena
UFC Vegas 88 ‘Prelims’ Card on ESPN+ (4 p.m. ET):
155 lbs.: Natan Levy vs. Mike Davis
135 lbs.: Josiane Nunes vs. Chelsea Chandler
125 lbs.: Jafel Filho vs. Ode Osbourne
155 lbs.: Thiago Moises vs. Mitch Ramirez
145 lbs.: Josh Culibao vs. Danny Silva
115 lbs.: Jaqueline Amorim vs. Cory McKenna
135 lbs.: Charalampos Grigoriou vs. Chad Anheliger
The Prelims
As always, I am looking forward to the Prelims. There are some fun names on the undercard this weekend - Josh Culibao, Thiago Moises, Jafel Filho, Ode Osbourne, and Mike Davis have me excited to see them back on my screen. In fact, Jafel Filho and Ode Osbourne will be taking on each other, which could be a contender to steal the show.
Gerald Meerschaert vs. Bryan Barberena
Both of these men are in need of a win. Meerschaert is 1-3 in his last four and Barberena is looking to end his losing streak at 3. Both men always go for it, so they will be looking to get an impressive finish to stay on the good side of the UFC higher ups.
Pannie Kianzad vs. Macy Chiasson
This is a re-match of the final from The Ultimate Fighter 28. Chiasson got the impressive win the first time around. Since then, both women have had their ups and downs, so look for them to try and get a “Performance of the Night”-type finish to get things flowing again.
Christian Rodriguez vs. Isaac Dulgarian
Dulgarian was talking a big game at Media Day - downplaying the recent victories of Rodriguez. I don’t know if that is wise. Not only is Rodriguez on a three fight win streak, he took zeroes away from both Raul Rosas Jr. and Cameron Saaiman. Both of those men were undefeated and being pushed by the UFC, only to fall to Rodriguez. Guess what? Dulgarian happens to have a zero, too, which I am sure Rodriguez would love to take. I expect this to be back and forth and a lot of fun.
Ovince Saint Preux vs. Kennedy Nzechukwu
OSP is back after a year off. The soon-to-be 41 year-old is 4-6 in his last ten fights and is coming in as a heavy underdog against the 12-4 Kennedy Nzechukwu. Kennedy has seemed poised to take the leap to the next level in fighting a few times, only to lose and take a step back. One of those steps back came last August in a loss to Dustin Jacoby. Kennedy has remained humble, though, openly explaining that he has a lot to learn and get better at. We will see if he has learned what he needs to take down the experienced OSP and get back on track. OSP won’t make it easy, though. He will be looking to prove he has one last run in him.
Bryan Battle vs. Ange Loosa
Battle, the Apex Predator, excels in front of no fans at the Apex. Since winning The Ultimate Fighter, he has had only one hiccup loss, but seems poised to take the next step in his career and start taking on higher tiered, possibly ranked opponents…if he can get through Ange Loosa. A really fun prospect, Loosa has gotten some nice decisions in his last few wins. He will be looking for an impressive finish to stop Battle’s hype train. This should be a fun co-main event.
Tai Tuivasa vs. Marcin Tybura
Both of these heavyweights will be looking to get back on track to try and start their move up the heavyweight rankings. Tuivasa has lost three straight, all finishes, against very tough opponents. While losses against the likes of Volkov, Pavlovich, and Gane aren’t anything to feel too bad about, as they are some of the better heavyweight in the division, it is still pivotal for Tuivasa to get a big win here. Tybura is another tough opponent, though. He has only lost twice in the last four years - against Volkov and Aspinall. Both Tuivasa and Tybura have knockout power, but Tybura will probably look to use his ground game to bring Tuivasa into deep waters. Because of that, Tybura might have a slight edge in this coin flip of a main event.
For fun, here are my picks…
UFC Vegas 88 Main Card on ESPN+ (7 p.m. ET):
Marcin Tybura
Bryan Battle
Kennedy Nzechukwu
Isaac Dulgarian
Macy Chiasson
Gerald Meerschaert
UFC Vegas 88 ‘Prelims’ Card on ESPN+ (4 p.m. ET):
Mike Davis
Josiane Nunes
Ode Osbourne
Thiago Moises
Josh Culibao
Jaqueline Amorim
Charalampos Grigoriou
On paper, this might not be the most exciting Fight Night card for non-die hard fans. However, I think there are enough fights on this show to keep you entertained enough to enjoy the card. I definitely expect some back and forth fights. This show will serve as a nice appetizer for the next few shows before we get to the big UFC 300 experience.
Do you plan on watching this Saturday? If so, let me know what you are looking forward to at matt.tenhoeve@gmail.com. I’ll be back next week to give you my thoughts on the show and also preview UFC on ESPN: Ribas vs. Namajunas, which will take place next Saturday. See you then!
