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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Serghei Spivac might want to be careful what he wishes for.

The Moldovan heavyweight kept his winning ways rolling as he scored his fourth victory in five fights with a quick first-round armbar submission of Marcin Tybura in Saturday’s UFC Vegas 95 main event. Making the moment sweeter for Spivac was that he avenged a loss to Tybura from February 2020, when Spivac was competing in just his third UFC fight.

Fighters on social media were impressed with Spivac’s finishing acumen, especially considering Tybura had never been submitted before. Afterwards, Spivac called for a fight with any heavyweight ranked above him. One answered.

Heavyweight contender Jailton Almeida responded to Spivac’s open challenge, writing, “[Spivac], do you want someone above you in the rankings? I’m here. #7 vs. #8. I want to fight, bro!

“Happy you get the finish early so we can fight soon!”

See more social media reactions from the MMA community below.

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Weidman Reacts
| BJPenn.com

Last night (Sat., Aug. 10, 2024), Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) returned home to the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada for UFC Vegas 95. It was quite possibly the least anticipated event of the year. The main event featured a rematch that nobody really asked for, and half of the card either pulled out or missed weight in the final days. All told, 20 athletes still showed up to put it all on the line, which was always guarantee at least a couple interesting moments … but not much more than that, if we’re being honest.

Let’s take a look back over at UFC Vegas 95’s best performances and techniques:

Photo by Al Powers/Zuffa LLC

Spivac Scores Revenge

Serghei Spivac avenged his 2020 loss to Marcin Tybura in quality fashion. It didn’t last very long, but the Moldovan “Polar Bear” still managed to show off improved hand speed, quality wrestling, and excellent jiu-jitsu in just about half a round. We have never seen Tybura submitted in his professional career, let alone submitted with the classic armbar from full guard.

It’s a quality feather in Spivac’s cap, proof of his improvement and potential alike. At 29 years of age, Spivac isn’t the flashiest Heavyweight prospect, but he might still be able to achieve elite calibre if he continues improving. At the very least, he’s looking at a long career of submitting Heavyweights who cannot grapple at all (Tybura does not fall into that category), which is not a bad way to make a living.

Photo by Al Powers/Zuffa LLC

Mariscal Overwhelms Jackson

The co-main event between Chepe Mariscal vs. Damon Jackson was expected to be a highlight, and the duo delivered. Right away, the pace was chaotic, as both grapplers chased takedowns and reversals.

Mariscal’s Judo background proved the difference, allowing him to score a few slick throws when the clinch work threatened to stall out. Additionally, Mariscal separated himself by landing damaging shots in close quarters. Whenever he briefly gained a control position or even just stopped a Jackson shot, Mariscal was bonking his opponent on the nose with surprisingly stiff arm punches.

Those strikes and the rapid pace really wore Jackson down over time. What began as a competitive scrap turned into an utter beatdown at the end of the second. Jackson caught a small second wind in the third and saw the final bell, but Mariscal’s undefeated UFC run continued nevertheless.

He just needs to make weight next time.

Photo by Al Powers/Zuffa LLC

A Tale Of Two BANGER Rounds

Toshiomi Kazama vs. Charalampos Grigoriou was unexpectedly awesome.

Japan’s “Silent Finisher” entered this bout in must-win territory, having lost his first two UFC fights. He started really strong, immediately — and I mean immediately! — getting his wrestling going. On the floor, he showed off his slick transitional grappling, changing positions and attacking submissions at an impressive rate.

Grigoriou was also looking for his first UFC win, and he recognized the first round didn’t go so well. “The Ferocious” New Yorker lived up to his nickname, surging forward with wild swings and flooring Kazama. The beating didn’t stop there, as a barely conscious Kazama absorbed a dozen hard elbows while on the floor.

Kazama wasn’t really there, but somehow, he managed to cling to guard and survive the onslaught. When Grigoriou finally ran out of gas, Kazama threw up a triangle choke and forced his opponent to submit! It was an impressive display of durability after a lovely show of grappling, so while it may not have been the cleanest win possible, it was absolutely memorable.

Photo by Al Powers/Zuffa LLC

Additional Thoughts

• Karol Rosa defeats Pannie Kianzad via unanimous decision: Rosa has developed into a rare bright light at 135-pounds, a division I could not possibly care less about overall. That division is seemingly permanently bogged down by the same handful of aging contenders, but Rosa is an exception! At 29 years of age, she’s developing into a true contender with excellent kickboxing and devastating calf kicks. Her last two fights have been a ton of fun, making her a real divisional standout in a way that just wasn’t the case a couple years ago. She brutalized Kianzad, chopping her leg to pieces then opening up gnarly cuts with repeated elbows, scoring a couple takedowns along the way for good measure.
• Youssef Zalal defeats Jarno Errens via second-round rear naked choke (HIGHLIGHTS): “The Moroccan Devil” was one of the biggest favorites on the card, and he looked the part! Right away, Zalal’s movement was making his foe miss while Zalal dug in hard calf kicks. He controlled the exchanges well and timed a takedown beautifully late in the first. As soon as Errens moved to stand, Zalal jumped his back and locked in the body triangle. The choke came soon afterward, securing Zalal his second flawless UFC win of 2024.

For complete UFC Vegas 95: “Tybura vs. Spivac 2” results and play-by-play, click HERE!

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Serghei Spivac closed the show with a big finish, but finishes were few and far between at the UFC’s latest visit to the APEX.

The dearth of memorable moments resulted in the UFC handing out one less bonus than usual, with Spivac, Youssef Zalal and Toshiomi Kazama all earning $ 50,000 Performance of the Night bonuses.

No Fight of the Night was awarded for Saturday’s event.

Spivac avenged a February 2020 loss to Marcin Tybura in the heavyweight headliner, needing less than two minutes to secure an armbar that forced Tybura to tap out for the first time in his 13-year career. The win gave Spivac his fourth in his past four outings and afterwards, he called for the UFC to match him up with an opponent that will keep him climbing the rankings.

This is Spivac’s second Performance of the Night bonus. He also received one for a first-round submission of Derrick Lewis this past February.

Zalal and Kazama both scored the first bonuses of their UFC careers.

Now 2-0 in his second stint with the promotion, Zalal scored a slick submission of Jarno Errens to net the $ 50,000 bonus.

Kazama, who was coming off of consecutive first-round losses, authored a thrilling comeback win over Charalampos Grigoriou, finishing him with a rear-naked choke in Round 2.

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Angelo Leo just shut the door on the Knockout of the Year conversation.

With one perfectly placed left hand, Leo (25-1, 12 KOs) left Luis Alberto “Venado” Lopez (30-3, 17 Kos) laid out on the canvas and claimed Lopez’s IBF featherweight title at a boxing event Saturday.

Watch the absurdly nasty KO blow below.

The finishing punch landed a minute into the 10th round with both boxers coming forward. Leo slipped a jab while letting his left hand hook fly and connected with maximum impact on Lopez’s chin. Lopez immediately dropped to the mat, almost completely devoid of movement.

Referee Ernie Sharif stepped in to administer the standard 10-count, but it was obvious that Lopez would not be recovering from the devastating strike.

In the video above, Lopez can be seen attempting to get up under his own power, but stumbling as his attendees attempt to bring him a stool.

Leo, who was fighting in his hometown of Albuquerque, N.M., claims his second world title after previously holding the WBO super-bantamweight belt.

Watch more angles of the unbelievable knockout and Leo’s post-fight interview below.

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