After two weeks outside of the US, the UFC is back in Las Vegas this weekend for a rather ‘standard’ Apex Fight Night card – here are the full details of each matchup, some of the key stats involved, and fighters that fans should keep an eye on.
Three of the next four UFC events will be Apex-based Fight Night cards, the first of which is arguably the least compelling; with heavyweight veterans Marcin Tybura and Serghei Spivac set to throw down for a second time in the main event of the evening.
UFC Vegas 95: Full fight card
As per the UFC website, UFC Vegas 95 (UFC on ESPN: Tybura vs Spivac 2) is set to feature just 10 fights due to two bouts sadly falling away earlier this week.
Main Card
- Marcin Tybura (8) vs Serghei Spivac (9)
- Damon Jackson vs Chepe Mariscal
- Danny Barlow vs Nikolay Veretennikov
- Chris Gutierrez vs Quang Le
- Yana Santos (12) vs Chelsea Chandler (14)
- Toshiomi Kazama vs Charalampos Grigoriou
Prelims
- Karol Rosa (8) vs Pannie Kianzad (11)
- Jhonata Diniz vs Karl Williams
- Youssef Zalal vs Jarno Errens
- Stephanie Luciano vs Talita Alencar
What time is the UFC on this weekend?
The UFC Fight Night this weekend will be starting slightly earlier than its usual time, with the prelims starting at 2 PM Pacific Time, 5 PM Eastern Time, and 10 PM British Time.
The main card gets underway on ESPN from 4 PM in the afternoon on the West Coast, 7 PM in the evening on the East Coast, and midnight in the UK.
UFC Fight Night: Meet the fighters
In the main event, Polish heavyweight Marcin ‘Tybur’ Tybura takes on Moldova’s Serghei ‘Polar Bear’ Spivac – a rematch of a fight that went down back in 2020, victory that night was claimed by Tybura via unanimous decision.
Since their first contest, Spivac has gone 6-2 in the UFC, including a surprise first-round submission win over Derrick Lewis in 2023; and only losing to Tom Aspinall and Ciryl Gane – certainly nothing to be ashamed about there.
Tybura has also found some success in the octagon since their first fight, albeit just as inconsistently as Spivac, having bounced back from a vicious TKO loss to Tom Aspinall with a big win earlier this year; a first-round submission of Tai Tuivasa.
Whilst the heavyweight clash is indeed topping the bill, the supporting act is by far a more interesting affair and could very well be a Fight of the Night contender when all’s said and done.
Both Chepe Mariscal and Damon Jackson are fantastically entertaining athletes, willing to throw down under the toughest of circumstances – as evident by the fact that Mariscal is currently 3-0 as an underdog in the UFC, this being his fourth fight with the promotion.
Standing across from Mariscal will be veteran Damon Jackson, who bounced back from consecutive losses in 2023 with an impressive win over Alexander Hernandez earlier this year.
Elsewhere on the card, there are five fighters in particular who fans should keep an eye out for; Danny Barlow, Youssef Zalal, Jhonata Diniz, and the two debutants, Quang Le and Nikolay Veretennikov.
Danny Barlow is an undefeated welterweight with an 8-0 record who certainly made a splash in his UFC debut earlier this year: securing a third-round knockout of Josh Quinlan, the fifth KO/TKO win of his career.
Youssef Zalal’s recent form in the UFC is the definition of ‘second wind’, having bounced back from three losses in a row with an equally impressive four-fight winning streak, including a submission win over Billy Quarantillo in March.
Jhonata Diniz is another undefeated prospect to keep an eye on, all seven of the Brazilian’s wins as a professional have come by way of KO/TKO, having dispatched Austen Lane with a thunderous left hook in April.
Then we have the two promotional newcomers.
Quang Le is an 8-0 bantamweight who has two wins via KO/TKO, three via submission and two via decision – with half of his professional fights to date ending inside the first round.
Meanwhile, Nikolay Veretennikov is a 12-4 welterweight from Kazakhstan, who after losing his Dana White’s Contender Series fight in 2021, earned three finishes in a row on the regional scene to find himself back in the UFC.
UFC Fight Night: Key stats to look out for
- Marcin Tybura: 79% takedown defense, 3.35 significant strikes absorbed per minute, and 3.6 significant strikes landed per minute
- Serghei Spivac: 4.56 takedowns per 15 minutes, 64% takedown accuracy, and 70% takedown defense
- Damon Jackson: 1.4 average submission attempts, 2.51 takedowns per 15 minutes, and a 71” reach
- Chepe Mariscal: 4.7 significant strikes landed per minute, 66% takedown defense, and 52% striking defense
- Danny Barlow: 8.8 significant strikes landed per minute, 57% striking defense and 100% takedown defense
- Chris Gutierrez: 4.8 significant strikes landed per minute, 2.79 significant strikes absorbed per minute, and 63% striking defense
UFC Vegas 95 goes down live from The Apex on Saturday, August 10.
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