Tybura chokes out Tuivasa in UFC main event

Marcin Tybura finished Tai Tuivasa in Saturday's UFC Fight Night main event, submitting him with a rear-naked choke at the 4:08 mark of the first round at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Tybura and Tuivasa entered the fight ranked Nos. 10 and 9 in the heavyweight division, respectively. The result puts Tybura back in the win column and extends Tuivasa's losing streak to four.

Tuivasa got off to a fast start, landing huge elbows on the feet and opening a cut on Tybura's head less than a minute in. But Tybura scored a takedown soon after and didn't let Tuivasa up, exposing a major weakness on the ground. Tybura took Tuivasa's back and pummeled him with ground-and-pound. Moments later, he sunk in a rear-naked choke and choked Tuivasa out cold.

Tybura is now 3-1 in his last four Octagon appearances. The 38-year-old Pole was coming off a knockout loss to current interim champion Tom Aspinall last July.

Tuivasa, 31, is riding the first four-fight skid of his professional career. The Australian fan favorite hasn't won a fight since knocking out Derrick Lewis in February 2022.