This Saturday at the UFC Apex, Marcin Tybura and Serghei Spivac clash again in another heavyweight main event which is not exactly capturing the attention of the MMA fanbase.
Serghei Spivac is coming off the back of a main event loss in Paris to Ciryl Gane, where he put on a truly underwhelming showing.
Marcin Tybura on the other hand returned to the win column in his last outing, submitting Tai Tuivasa in round one of their Apex main event.
With the Pole already holding a win over Spivac in 2020, the fight makes even less sense, however, the top of the heavyweight division is seemingly clogged up at the moment.
Despite it being a truly underwhelming card in which there are only six ranked fighters, let’s get into our main card predictions.
Toshiomi Kazama vs Charalampos Grigoriou – Bantamweight bout
Opening up the main card is a bantamweight bout between Toshiomi Kazama and Charalampos Grigoriou, two fighters coming off losses.
‘Pampos’ Grigoriou trains at Longo and Weidman with the likes of former champion Aljamain Sterling, and upcoming contender, Merab Dvalishvili.
Neither fighter is yet to taste victory under the UFC banner, and will be hoping to turn their careers around. I believe the 32-year-old Cypriot will return to the win column with a big knockout.
Prediction: Charalampos Grigoriou via KO
Yana Santos vs Chelsea Chandler – Women’s bantamweight bout
Chelsea Chandler missed weight for the second time in a row, this time by a whopping 5lbs. With Chandler likely looking for her wrestling, being 5lbs over could well be tactical.
If Yana Santos doesn’t pick up a win over Chandler this weekend, she may find herself being cut from the promotion, as she already has three losses in a row.
Although Chandler likely has a wrestling and grappling advantage, Santos should have a clear edge in the technical striking and should be able to out point Chandler if the fight stays on the feet.
Having said that, I don’t expect the Russian to keep the fight on the feet and see her getting outwrestled for three rounds.
Prediction: Chelsea Chandler via decision
Chris Gutierrez vs Quang Le – Bantamweight bout
One of the higher caliber matchups of the evening comes in the 135lb division between former ranked striker, Chris Gutierrez and the undefeated Quang Le.
The Vietnamese 32-year-old made his debut in 2021 in the UFC’s feeder promotion, LFA, and he has been clocking up wins there since.
Gutierrez on the other hand was close to the top 10 bantamweight rankings at one point but a recent loss to Song Yadong stinted his rise.
‘El Guapo’ has undoubtedly faced the higher caliber of opponent, which is to be expected considering the fact he has been fighting in the UFC since 2019. I find it hard to see a path to victory for Quang Le in this matchup and see the Factory X product rebounding with an impressive win.
Prediction: Chris Gutierrez via decision
Danny Barlow vs Nikolay Veretennikov – Welterweight bout
Danny Barlow who is also undefeated at 8-0 looks to maintain his unbeaten record with a win over late notice replacement, Nikolay Veretennikov.
Barlow made his full UFC debut this past February at UFC 298, knocking out Josh Quinlan in the first round, announcing himself on the biggest stage.
The 29-year-old was originally scheduled to take on Uros Medic, but Medic withdrew because of a rib injury, leaving the opportunity open for Veretennikov.
The Kazakh has been accumulating wins on the regional scene and is currently riding a three fight win streak heading into his bout this weekend. The last time the 34-year-old lost was when he fought Michael Morales on the Contender Series.
Barlow is a big and strong striker for the weight, and he has a very solid and fast left hand. Although Veretennikov is a very solid opponent, I believe the extremely short notice will be too much of a task for the Kazakh to overcome.
Prediction: Danny Barlow via TKO
Damon Jackson vs Chepe Mariscal – Featherweight bout
Damon Jackson was seemingly coming into his own on a four fight win streak, but then losses to Dan Ige and Billy Quarantillo stinted his momentum. Despite that, the 35-year-old rebounded last time out by beating Alexander Hernandez.
Chepe Mariscal on the other hand has impressed since his debut last year against Trevor Peek. His last outing came close though, as he only narrowly edged against Morgan Charriere.
Jackson is a nifty fighter on the ground with his grappling, but can also hold his own on the feet. Having said that, Mariscal likely holds a wide speed advantage in this matchup, which I can see proving too much for the 35-year-old.
Mariscal did miss weight by 3.5lbs which doesn’t bode entirely well, however the fight will still go ahead, but it is unknown what shape Mariscal is in considering his weight miss.
It is likely to be a close fight where Jackson holds a big experience advantage, but I favor Mariscal ever so slighly.
Prediction: Chepe Mariscal via decision
Marcin Tybura vs Serghei Spivac 2 – Heavyweight bout
Ultimately, is this a fight that should be happening in a main event, no. But there aren’t many heavyweight fights that should.
Since their first fight in 2020, both fighters have had a similar path, both only then losing to the upper eschelon of the division. Spivac has only suffered losses to Ciryl Gane and Tom Aspinall since and Tybura losses to Aspinall and Alexander Volkov.
Both fighters have an extremely similar skillset, wrestling being their bread and butter. Despite that, both have decently well rounded striking and can hold their own on the feet.
Ultimately, I think this fight will come down to Tybura being nine years Spivac’s elder, and Spivac being in his athletic prime.
Although it will likely be an extremely close fight, I expect the Moldovan to come out on top.
Prediction: Serghei Spivac via submission
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