Marcin Tybura submits Tai Tuivasa early in first round

Marcin Tybura scored one of the quickest wins of his UFC career on Saturday by submitting Tai Tuivasa in the first round of their heavyweight main event.

Tybura (25-8) finished Tuivasa (15-7) with a rear naked choke at 4:08. Tybura's quickest finish in the UFC came at 4:06 of a fight against Walt Harris in 2021. This one would have ended earlier, but Tuivasa refused to tap and ultimately lost consciousness. The heavyweight fight headlined UFC Fight Night at the Apex in Las Vegas.

“I strangled him for so long,” Tybura said. “I could hear he was going through a tough time but he still wasn't giving up. I was thinking, 'Man, what is he made of?'

Tuivasa of Australia went into Saturday's competition in desperate need of a victory. The 31-year-old fan favorite has been in free fall over the past two years. He has now lost four in a row inside the Octagon and finished in each defeat.

He looked good in the first minute, working on Tybura's lead leg with low kicks. He clipped Tybura with a nice elbow out of the Thai clinch, but gave up a takedown along the fence less than halfway through the round. Once Tybura took Tuivasa down, he easily took his back and pounded him with blows to the side of the head. Eventually, the shots gave way to the rear naked choke, giving Tybura the first submission victory since 2014.

Tybura of Poland has won three of his last four matches, with the only loss coming against current interim champion Tom Aspinall. He has the fifth most wins among active UFC heavyweights with 12.

Tuivasa, who was ranked No. 9 in the division before this fight, has not won since a second-round knockout of Derrick Lewis in February 2022.