The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is known for its love of heavyweight headliners. Come mid-March, fans are in for a treat.
The organization announced on Friday that Tai Tuivasa (14-6) will face off against Marcin Tybura (24-8) on March 16. It’s gonna be a five-round bout, or less if things get too heated.
The heavyweights will headline the currently unnumbered Fight Night event. It’s likely to be dubbed UFC Fight Night 239 if the main card airs on ESPN+. The two were initially booked for UFC 298, but the promotion decided to push them back a month.
Tuivasa is looking to get back on his feet. He’s been on a losing streak since September 2022, suffering three straight stoppage losses. The defeats were handed down by the division’s top fighters: Ciryl Gane, Sergei Pavlovich, and Alexander Volkov.
Before this slump, the Aussie was a force to be reckoned with. He scored five straight knockouts from 2020 to early 2022, taking down Derrick Lewis and Stefan Struve on his way up.
On the other hand, Polish contender Tybura is hoping to bounce back from a 73-second loss to future interim champ Tom Aspinall in July 2023. This defeat ended his two-fight win streak, where he emerged victorious over Blagoy Ivanov and Alexander Romanov. Tybura once had a five-fight win streak in the Octagon, which included knockouts of Greg Hardy and Walt Harris.
Tybura holds second place for the most decision wins in heavyweight history (seven). He’s trailing behind the mighty Andrei Arlovski’s twelve.
The UFC Fight Night card on March 16 will be held at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The Tuivasa-Tybura match is set as the headliner. Other potential main card bouts include a lightweight match between Thiago Moises and Brad Riddell, and a welterweight clash between Bryan Battle and Ange Loosa.