UFC Vegas 88: Tai Tuivasa vs. Marcin Tybura: Full results
UFC Vegas 88 just wrapped up. The event took place at the UFC Apex facility in Las Vegas, Nevada on March 16. The card did not have a line-up of high-profile fighters but made up for it with some good performances. It included a total of 13 total fights in nine divisions. Let's take a look at its results.
In the main event, No.9-ranked heavyweight Tai Tuivasa fought No.10-ranked Marcin Tybura. After collecting five impressive wins from 2019 to 2022, Tuivasa suffered three consecutive losses in his most recent fights. Meanwhile, Tybura's two-fight win streak was snapped at the hands of Tom Aspinall in July 2023.
The heavyweight contenders fought hard to get back in the win column.
A relatively close affair in the stand-up, the bout tipped heavily in Tybura's favor once it hit the canvas. After vicious ground-and-pound, Tybura locked a rear-naked choke that Tuivasa fought for a long time before he lost consciousness, causing the referee to stop the fight.
The co-main event was a clash of welterweight contenders Bryan Battle and Ange Loosa. Battle went into the fight on a two-fight win streak, defeating Gabriel Green (KO) and A.J. Fletcher (sub).
Loosa, a relative newcomer in the UFC, also put his two-fight win streak on the line against the TUF 29 winner. Battle fought aggressively and decisively won Round 1 on all three judges' scorecards.
But the fight came to an abrupt end in Round 2 as an accidental eye poke from Battle rendered Loosa unable to continue. The bout was ruled a no-contest, which caused a confrontation between the two fighters.
UFC Vegas 88 results: Ovince Saint Preux and Christian Rodriguez earn hard-fought victories
UFC Vegas 88 main card fighters delivered and put on a show for the fight fans. Gerald Meerschaert and Macy Chiasson scored decisive submission wins over Bryan Barberena and Pannie Kianzad, respectively.
However, Christian Rodriguez vs. Isaac Dulgarian raised the bar with three rounds of back-and-forth action. Dulgarian, who had earned all six of his professional MMA victories by first-round finishes coming into the fight, predictably started aggressively.
The 27-year-old successfully took Rodriguez down multiple times in Round 1, threatening a finish with vicious ground-and-pound and submission attempts.
However, Rodriguez strongly responded in Rounds 2 and 3 as Dulgarian appeared to be slowing down and snatched a controversial split-decision victory.
Longtime UFC light heavyweight contender Ovince Saint Preux fought a much younger Kennedy Nzechukwu on the main card. Both men had their moments in the fight and it appeared that the contest was even heading into Round 3.
Saint Preux prevailed in the battle of attrition in the final frame and walked away with a split-decision win. He now holds the record for third-most wins in UFC light heavyweight history (15).
Check out the full event results below:
Main card
Heavyweight - Marcin Tybura def. Tai Tuivasa via submission (Rear-naked choke)(R1, 4:08)
Welterweight - Bryan Battle vs. Ange Loosa - No Contest (R2, 1:00)
Light heavyweight - Ovince Saint Preux def. Kennedy Nzechukwu via split decision (29-28 X 2, 28-29)
Featherweight - Christian Rodriguez def. Isaac Dulgarian via split decision (28-27 X 2, 27-28)
Women's bantamweight - Macy Chiasson def. Pannie Kianzad via submission (Rear-naked choke) (R1, 3:54)
Middleweight - Gerald Meerschaert def. Bryan Barberena via submission (Face crank) (R2, 4:23)
Prelims
Lightweight - Mike Davis def. Natan Levy via submission (Arm-triangle choke) (R2, 1:43)
Women's bantamweight - Chelsea Chandler def. Josiane Nunes via unanimous decision (29-28 X 3)
Flyweight - Jafel Filho def. Ode Osbourne via submission (Rear-naked choke) (R1, 4:27)
Featherweight - Danny Silva def. Joshua Culibao via split decision (29-28 X 2, 28-29)
Women's strawweight - Jaqueline Amorim def. Cory McKenna via submission (armbar) (R1, 1:38)
Lightweight - Thiago Moises def. Mitch Ramirez via KO (R3, 0:15)
Bantamweight - Chad Anheliger def. Charalampos Grigoriou via unanimous decision (29-28 X 2, 30-27)