UFC Vegas 68: About Saturday’s Action

Detailing the results and ramifications of Saturday’s fight card at the UFC APEX, including the four Road to UFC tournament finals and a pair of critical heavyweight matchups

Beware of Polar Bears

Serghei Spivac is quietly becoming a problem in the heavyweight division.

On Saturday night, the ascending 28-year-old collected the biggest victory of his career, dominating Derrick Lewis from “second one” and never allowing the two-time title challenger to breathe. He put Lewis on the deck early and each time the veteran clambered back to his feet, Spivac deposited him back to the canvas almost instantly, continuing the spin cycle until he landed in position to clamp onto an arm-triangle choke that caught Lewis dead to rights and ended the contest.

For the last year, we’ve wondered if Spivac’s development and improvements were real and a sign that he has the potential to be a contender in the big boy ranks, and now it seems obvious that the answer is “Yes.” He’s continuing to run through everyone placed in front of him, fighting to his strengths and playing to his advantages at every turn, which is all you can ask of him.

The heavyweight division is changing and appears to be deeper now than it has been in years, with Spivac joining that pack of contenders vying to establish their dominance in 2023 and beyond.

Devin Clark Gets It Done

Devin Clark kicked off his 2023 campaign by earning a clean sweep of the scorecards against Da Woon Jung in Saturday’s penultimate pairing.

Thicker than a bowl of oatmeal and dripping explosive athleticism, Clark has never quite developed into the consistent, dangerous fighter his physique and profile suggest, but he looks sharp against Jung, utilizing his conditioning to push the pace against the South Korean. He scored a handful of high amplitude takedowns and landed a couple quality shots on the feet, but for the most part, this was a grind and the South Dakota native was the more effective of the two.

This was one of those fights that show the clear stratification of the light heavyweight ranks, as Clark and Jung are clearly several levels behind the elite class, but also a few steps behind the next tier of talent in the division. As much as we routinely criticize middleweight around these parts, it might be time to throw some of that shade towards the 205-pound ranks as well.

Tip of the Cap to Marcin Tybura

Look — no one is going to confuse Marcin Tybura with a future title contender, but the 37-year-old Polish veteran picked up a hard-fought decision win on Saturday over Blagoy Ivanov that gave him seven wins in his last eight appearances.

In the lead to this weekend, I called Tybura the “Heavyweight Neil Magny,” in that he beats guys stationed below him in the rankings, but struggles against those ahead of him, and that held true again here. He was the more active and diverse of the two throughout, and closed the fight by controlling Ivanov on the canvas throughout the final frame.

Every division could use a fighter like Tybura in its ranks — a reliable, durable, well-rounded talent that serves as a truth machine against ascending fighters and a steady hand at all times. There ain’t nothing sexy about him, but Tybura deserves some flowers for the overall success he’s enjoyed inside the Octagon.

Nobody Likes a Draw

Dooho Choi and Kyle Nelson fought to a majority draw on Saturday’s main card, with a third-round point deduction producing the no-winner result.

Choi landed the more consistent and significant damage throughout, but was docked a point in the third round due to a headbutt while inside Nelson’s guard. It wasn’t a damaging blow, but it was a foul nonetheless, and referee Chris Tognoni showed no hesitation pausing the action, consulting the replays, and taking the point. While you can quibble with whether it was truly warranted or not, this is what we ask of officials all the time, so I won’t knock Tognoni for not simply offering a stern warning.

The biggest takeaway here is that my concerns about the damage Choi has taken over the course of his career feels merited. He was expected to cruise in this fight and instead, he was only barely better than Nelson. While some of that can be attributed to his lengthy hiatus, he also simply doesn’t have the crack that made him such an exciting fighter earlier in this career.

Big Effort for Fugitt

Adam Fugitt turned in a dominant effort in Saturday’s main card opener, pulling off a considerable upset by dispatching Yusaku Kinoshita in the waning moments of the opening round.

The 34-year-old Oregon native ate a high kick early in the contest, but wasn’t deterred in the slightest, closing the distance and forcing Kinoshita to wrestle. It was clear he had a distinct advantage in that realm and continued to mine it for openings, eventually dragging the DWCS graduate to the mat and working to a dominant position. From there, he rained down elbows until the referee stepped in and stopped the fight.

Fugitt gave a good accounting of himself after taking his debut fight against Michael Morales on short notice, and showed here that his experience advantage was too great for the intriguing Japanese newcomer. This was a great performance for Fugitt and should keep him in a similar position as a veteran test against emerging talents going forward.

Preliminary Card Thoughts

Anshul Jubli turned in a dominant effort, playing to his superior skills on the ground to secure a second-round stoppage win over Jeka Saragih to claim the Road to UFC lightweight tournament finals.

The young Indian fighter was quick to take the fight to the canvas in both the first and second rounds, eventually working to mount in each frame. After searching for an arm-triangle choke in the opening stanza and failing to complete, Jubli stuck to striking when they hit the ground in the second, pounding out the finish against the overmatched Saragih.

While still raw and inexperienced, Jubli’s ascent to the UFC roster is still a monumental achievement, as he becomes just the second fighter from India to earn a UFC contract. Bharat Khandare lasted just one fight, and while Arjun Bhullar went 3-1 inside the Octagon and proudly represented his heritage, the former heavyweight fighter was born and raised in Canada.

We’ll see how far Jubli can progress, but regardless, this is another key moment that highlights the importance of representation.

JeongYeong Lee had to go the full 15 minutes, but “The Korean Tiger” successfully navigated his battle with Yi Zha to claim the Road to UFC featherweight tournament.

This was a classic “damage wins fights” decision, with one official scoring the bout 30-27 for Zha while the other two delivered 29-28 cards for Lee, which felt like the far more logical score, as the South Korean landed far more punishing blows throughout. Yes, Yi did well to grind out control time, but control time doesn’t win fights — damage does, and Lee did the most damage.

In his post-fight interview with Michael Bisping, Lee laid out his plan to get to the top of the featherweight division, telling the word he wants to go “Dan Ige to Ilia Topuria to Max Holloway to Volkanovski,” offering up an ambitious plan. While you have to appreciate the confidence, first things first: get healthy and get a couple wins in the UFC, and then we can talk about taking on Top 15 fighters.

There’s a reason I was so hyped about seeing Rinya Nakamura step into the Octagon throughout the week, and the unbeaten Japanese fighter showed why on Saturday.

“Hybrid” needed just 33 seconds to claim the Road to UFC bantamweight tournament finale, dropping Toshiomi Kazama with a clean left hand. Nakamura was the sharper of the two from the jump and was happy to trade with Kazama in the pocket, trusting in his hands and his power, for good reason. Despite being a former Under-23 World Champion in freestyle wrestling, Nakamura continues to show he’s got hands and a ton of upside in the bantamweight division.

Listen: the 135-pound weight class is flush with talent, and I’m not saying he’s ready to face the top tier right now, but Nakamura has that kind of upside. He turned pro less than 18 months ago and has now landed a place on the UFC roster, with a 7-0 record, six finishes, and bushels of potential.

Pay close attention.

HyunSung Park continued to show he has outstanding finishing instincts, earning his place on the UFC roster by submitting SeungGuk Choi in the third round to claim the Road to UFC flyweight tournament victory.

The South Koreans showed a little bit of nerves in the opening stanza, neither man willing to really open up as they got their feet under them inside the Octagon. Choi scored a knockdown in the second, but Park had success of his own, sending the fight to the third relatively close. In the final round, Park took over, controlling the grappling exchanges and climbing onto Choi’s back, eventually dragging him to the canvas and locking up the rear-naked choke.

The 27-year-old Park is now 8-0 overall with seven consecutive finishes, which makes him an intriguing addition to the flyweight ranks. This wasn’t his best showing, but Park was still about to secure the stoppage, which should open some eyes and get more people paying attention when he makes his official UFC debut later this year.

Make it three straight and six of seven for JunYong Park, who is starting to show signs that he might have some legitimate upside in the middleweight division.

The 31-year-old was patient on the feet to begin his fight with Denis Tiuliulin, but as soon as he was able to take the Russian to the canvas, the fight turned into a one-sided affair. Park dominated, splitting Tiuliulin open on the side of his head and dropping heavy shots from mount before transitioning to the back and choking his veteran foe unconscious.

Park’s lone loss over his last seven fights came in a gunfight with Gregory Rodrigues where he was doing well before getting caught. He’s done enough to merit a step up in competition next time out, and if he continues to perform the way he has of late, “The Iron Turtle” could establish himself as someone to keep tabs on in the 185-pound weight class.

Tatsuro Taira is the goods, y’all.

The Japanese prospect showed tremendous poise in waiting out an early guillotine attempt by Jesus Aguilar in Saturday’s opener, and once he broke free, it was quickly over. Taira climb to mount, attacked a mounted triangle choke, rolled to his back, and switched off to an armbar when Aguilar defended. It was swift, technical, and damn impressive, with the 23-year-old moving to 13-0 with the victory.

Flyweight keeps getting deeper and more talent-laden, and Taira has to be considered amongst the pack of skilled hopefuls moving up the ranks.