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Ranked heavyweights in need of a victory to remain in the title picture will meet Saturday as No. 9-ranked Tai Tuivasa takes on No. 10-ranked Marcin Tybura in the main event of UFC Fight Night: Tuivasa vs. Tybura. Their five-round showdown anchors the main UFC fight card starting at 7 p.m. ET from the Apex facility in Las Vegas. The power-punching Tuivasa was perhaps on his way to becoming the division’s biggest star before suffering a three-fight losing streak against top-rated opponents to see his trajectory take a dive. The versatile Tybura has won seven of his past nine, but is looking to overcome a loss to current interim champion Tom Aspinall.
Tuivasa is a -125 favorite (risk $125 to win $100), while Tybura is offered at +105 in the latest UFC Fight Night: Tuivasa vs. Tybura odds. In the co-main event, Bryan Battle (-175) meets Ange Loosa (+145) in a matchup of welterweight prospects. Before locking in your picks for UFC Fight Night: Tuivasa vs. Tybura, make sure you check out the MMA predictions and betting advice from SportsLine combat expert Daniel Vithlani.
From breaking down film and following fighters and their camps closely, to tracking sharp action and betting market signals, Vithlani covers the breadth of the MMA betting landscape top to bottom. He also trains amateur boxers and speaks regularly with MMA fighters to understand the sport’s nuances.
Vithlani made his SportsLine debut last January of last year and swept the main card for UFC 283 with a 5-0 record and has been a consistent winner ever since. At UFC 292 last August, he called the upset for underdog Sean O’Malley (+210) against Aljamain Sterling (-250) in the bantamweight championship main event. Anyone who has followed Vithlani already has seen massive returns.
Now, with UFC Fight Night: Tuivasa vs. Tybura on deck, Vithlani has studied the card from top to bottom and released his top selections. You can only see those picks at SportsLine.
UFC Fight Night: Tuivasa vs. Tybura preview
Although Tuivasa (14-6) and Tybura (24-8) have differing fighting styles, their trajectory in the UFC has some common ground because both at one point appeared headed toward journeyman status before embarking on runs that put them in the top-15 rankings.
Tuivasa has now had two separate three-fight losing streaks in the UFC, a rarity for any fighter who still finds himself in the top-10 rankings. He arrived in 2017 as part of a crop of young heavyweight prospects who were paired against each other early in their tenures.
The 30-year-old Australian fighter won his first three fights but followed those wins with a three-fight losing streak that threatened to jeopardize his roster spot. Instead, he won five consecutive fights by knockout inside of two rounds to soar to No. 3 in the rankings.
In the process, Tuivasa became a beloved figure among MMA fans because of his knockout power, gregarious nature and colorful celebrations that include drinking a full beer out of a shoe. Even so, he has now been stopped in three straight outings, including a second-round submission to Alexander Volkov in September.
Tybura is an eight-year UFC veteran who endured a stretch in which he lost four of five and likely needed a win in order to avoid looking for work in other promotions. However, similar to Tuivasa, Tybura then ripped off a five-fight winning streak to crack the top-15 rankings and shed the label of limited journeyman.
Even so, he has also struggled against elite competition and put up nearly zero resistance against Aspinall, who stopped him at 1:13 of the first round. The winner of Saturday’s main event gets new life as a potential title challenger in a division that has seen limited movement of late largely because of the inactivity from champion Jon Jones. You can only see who to pick at UFC Fight Night here.
UFC Fight Night predictions
We’ll share one of Vithlani’s UFC Fight Night selections here: He is taking Gerald Meerschaert (-245) to get past Bryan Barbarena (+200) in a middleweight matchup on the main card.
Meerschaert (35-17) is an eight-year UFC veteran and one of the sport’s most decorated grapplers, with 27 of his 35 career MMA wins coming by submission. However, the 36-year-old’s one-dimensional arsenal has limited his trajectory and he has lost three of his past four.
Barberena (18-11) is a 10-year UFC veteran known for his punching power and wild brawls. The 34-year-old has lost three straight, including two by submission.
“Barberena’s grappling defense is subpar, and I worry about that against a Ju-Jitsu shark like Meerschaert. Barbarena was submitted in two of his last three losses, and the same is likely to happen again,” Vithlani told SportsLine. See who else to back here.
How to make UFC Fight Night picks
Vithlani has strong picks for Tuivasa vs. Tybura and other bouts on the UFC Fight Night card. He’s also backing a fighter who “has a powerful right hand and kickboxing combinations” to emerge with a dominant victory. Those picks are only available at SportsLine.
Who wins UFC Fight Night: Tuivasa vs. Tybura, and how exactly does each fight end? Visit SportsLine now to get detailed picks on UFC Fight Night, all from the MMA expert who profited more than $6,200, and find out.
UFC Fight Night odds, fight card
See full UFC Fight Night picks, predictions, best bets here.
Marcin Tybura (+105) vs. Tai Tuivasa (-125)
Bryan Battle (-175) vs. Ange Loosa (+145)
Kennedy Nzechukwu (-530) vs. Ovince St. Preux (+360)
Macy Chiasson (-210) vs. Pannie Kianzad (+170)
Gerald Meerschaert (-245) vs. Bryan Barbarena (+200)
Christian Rodriguez (+160) vs. Isaac Dulgarian (-190)
Mike Davis (-305) vs. Natan Levy (+245)
Thiago Moises (-340) vs. Mitch Ramirez (+285)
Josh Culibao (-190) vs. Danny Silva (+160)
Cory McKenna (-125) vs. Jacqueline Amorim (+105)
Charalampos Grigoriou (-165) vs. Chad Anheliger (+140)