Marcin Tybura put Tai Tuivasa to sleep with a rear-naked choke earlier tonight (Sat., Mar. 16, 2024) at UFC Vegas 88 live on ESPN+ from inside UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada. It was Tybura’s first submission victory as a member of the UFC roster.
Tuivasa did what he does best at the beginning of the fight and pressured Tybura with heavy punches on the feet. “Bam Bam” also mixed in some nice elbows that cut Tybura and had him bleeding early. Tybura quickly changed levels and took Tuivasa down along the cage. That was all the veteran heavyweight needed to find a path to a finish.
Tybura started to hammer Tuivasa with hard punches to the side of the head as the referee told “Bam Bam” to defend himself. Tuivasa had nothing left to do except to give up his back and force Tybura to use his grappling. Unfortunately for Tuivasa, Tybura wasted no time locking up a rear-naked choke and squeezing the breath out of “Bam Bam” until he went to sleep.
Check out the final moments below:
MARCIN TYBURA PUTS TAI TUIVASA OUT COLD #UFCVegas88 pic.twitter.com/5YaQkJ0LGu
— Spinnin Backfist (@SpinninBackfist) March 17, 2024
Tybura, 38, is now back in the UFC win column after getting sparked by current interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall back in July 2023. This was a tremendous way for the Polish contender to start 2024 off with a bang and make his push towards the division’s best fighters.
For complete UFC Vegas 88 results, coverage, and highlights, click HERE.