After three tough losses to top-shelf heavyweights, Tuivasa is finally getting an easier match-up against a beatable opponent.
Everyone’s favorite shoey-drinking Australian heavyweight is coming back in action.
The UFC has just announced that Tai Tuivasa will return to face Marcin Tybura at UFC 298 in Anaheim, California. “Bam Bam” currently sits at No. 9 in the heavyweight rankings, while Tybura is one slot below him at No. 10. Both men are coming off losses, so it will be a good opportunity to reset and make another run up the rankings.
Tuivasa has had the harder path of the two. He wasn’t won since a February 2022 knockout of Derrick Lewis in Houston. That win put him into the contender’s circle, which is a harsh place to be: he was KO’d by Ciryl Gane in a tough war, starched by Sergei Pavlovich in under a minute, and most recently tapped by Alexander Volkov.
Bam Bam is !
Tai Tuivasa vs Marcin Tybura is locked in for #UFC298! pic.twitter.com/VsbNLaOTBy
— UFC_AUSNZ (@UFC_AUSNZ) December 12, 2023
As for Marcin Tybura, he’s 7-2 over his last 9 with losses to Volkov and current interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall.
After the murderer’s row Tuivasa has faced, Tybura is a nice rebound fight. The Polish heavyweight doesn’t have renown one-punch knockout power, but is strategically tough enough to challenge Tai if he doesn’t come in prepared and focused. The Australian needs this win if he doesn’t want to become a sideshow attraction rather than a legitimate competitor.
Tuivasa vs. Tybura joins a solid card for the UFC’s February 17th return to Anaheim, California. Headlining that event is a featherweight title fight between champion Alexander Volkanovski and gritty No. 1 contender Ilia Topuria. Also recently announced: a bantamweight contender’s bout between Merab Dvalishvili and Henry Cejudo.