Marcin Tybura Chokes Out Tai Tuivasa in UFC Fight Night 239 Headliner

Marcin Tybura exploited the lack of dimension in the game of his heavy-handed dance partner.

The former M-1 Global titleholder strengthened his claim as a Top 10 heavyweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, as he rendered Tai Tuivasa unconscious with a rear-naked choke in the first round of their UFC Fight Night 239 headliner on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Tuivasa (14-7, 8-7 UFC) surrendered his grip on reality 4:08 into Round 1.

Tybura (25-8, 12-7 UFC) walked through considerable fire. Tuivasa blasted him with a series of standing elbows, one of which opened a cut on his scalp. The 33-fight veteran kept his cool under duress, closed the distance behind a one-two and completed a takedown. Tybura hammered away with sustained ground-and-pound and patiently waited for an opening to present itself. Tuivasa chose to go belly down and exposed his neck in the process. Soon after, the fight-ending choke was in place.

The 30-year-old Tuivasa now finds himself on a four-fight losing streak.

Meanwhile, an inadvertent eye poke from “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 29 winner Bryan Battle resulted in a no contest with Ange Loosa in the second round of their welterweight co-main event. Loosa (10-3, 2-1 UFC) indicated he could not see after a brief pause in the action, resulting in the stoppage 60 seconds into Round 2. The two men had to be separated by in-cage security afterward.

Related » UFC Fight Night 239 Round-by-Round Scoring

Battle (10-2, 5-1 UFC) handled his business in the first round, where he unleashed a variety of weapons on the backpedaling Kill Cliff Fight Club representative. Short-range knees, a front kick to the face, a switch knee and a partially blocked head kick all penetrated Loosa’s defenses with varying degrees of effectiveness. A thumb to the eye during their last exchange rendered it all moot.

Elsewhere, Ovince St. Preux wagged his finger at Father Time and managed to come away with a split decision over Fortis MMA’s Kennedy Nzechukwu in a three-round light heavyweight showcase. All three judges struck 29-28 scorecards: Derek Cleary for Nzechukwu, Adalaide Byrd and Junichiro Kamijo for St. Preux.

It was not an aesthetically pleasing exercise. St. Preux (27-17, 15-12 UFC) pawed with jab, mixed in a few front kicks to the body and fired occasional body-head combinations. Nzechukwu (12-5, 6-5 UFC) seemed hesitant to pull the trigger, until a left uppercut from the Strikeforce veteran dropped him to a knee in the third round. St. Preux, 40, struggled to keep pace down the stretch. Nzechukwu tore into him with knees to the body and sharp one-twos, hunting a finish that ultimately eluded him.

Nzechukwu has lost back-to-back bouts since he slept Devin Clark with a guillotine choke at UFC 288 a little less than a year ago.

Further down the card, Roufusport’s Christian Rodriguez rallied to eke out a contentious split decision over the previously unbeaten Isaac Dulgarian in a three-round featherweight feature. All three members of the cageside judiciary scored it 29-28: Anthony Maness for Dulgarian, Sal D’Amato and Ron McCarthy for Rodriguez.

Dulgarian (6-1, 1-1 UFC) stormed out of the gate with a dominant first round, overwhelming the Duke Roufus protégé with takedowns, mat returns, ground-and-pound and submission attempts; he was ambitious enough to try a Peruvian necktie before reconsidering his options. Rodriguez stayed composed, landed a few close-range knee strikes in the middle stanza and waited for the Factory X standout to run out of gas. An exhausted Dulgarian offered little to nothing in terms of meaningful offense across the final five minutes. Rodriguez (11-1, 4-1 UFC) capitalized on the moment, sprawled on weak takedowns, achieved full mount and floated from one dominant position to another. Dulgarian eventually made his way to an upright position, only to eat punches while wide-eyed with fatigue.

Rodriguez, 26, has won four fights in a row.

Not to be overshadowed, “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 28 winner Macy Chiasson put away ex-Cage Warriors Fighting Championship titleholder Pannie Kianzad with a rear-naked choke in the first round of their women’s bantamweight attraction. Kianzad (16-8, 5-5 UFC) bowed out 3:54 into Round 1, falling to 0-2 in the head-to-head series between the two.

Related » UFC Fight Night 239 Prelims: Davis Arm-Triangles Levy

Chiasson (9-3, 7-3 UFC) set off scrambles, made passes at a kneebar and an inverted triangle, tripped the Arte Suave rep to the floor and slipped behind her. The Fortis MMA export slowly tightened her arms into a face crank, then transitioned to the rear-naked choke to force an immediate tapout.

The submission was Chiasson’s first since she dispatched Kianzad with the same maneuver at “The Ultimate Fighter 28” Finale on Nov. 30, 2018.

Finally, former Resurrection Fighting Alliance champion Gerald Meerschaert put Bryan Barberena to sleep with a face crank in the second round of their middleweight appetizer. Barberena (18-12, 9-10 UFC) lost consciousness 4:23 into Round 2, suffering his fourth consecutive defeat.

Meerschaert (36-17, 11-9 UFC) secured multiple takedowns, advanced position without much resistance and controlled the flow of action with superior grappling. He grounded Barberena midway through the middle stanza, progressed to the back and bit down on the face crank. From there, Meerschaert tightened the vice until his counterpart blacked out.

The 36-year-old Meershcaert now has 28 submission victories to his credit.

Continue Reading » UFC Fight Night 239 Prelims: Focused Filho Throttles Osbourne