Polish heavyweight Marcin Tybura has been paired up with the infamous Greg Hardy this weekend at UFC Vegas 17. Both fighters enter the bout on win streaks, with Tybura (20-6) having won all three of his fights so far this year. Most recently, he picked up a unanimous decision over Ben Rothwell.
This fourth fight has made it Tybura’s busiest year ever as a pro, and a win would no doubt be the icing on the cake.
“I feel blessed that 2020 kept me so busy. I can’t wait for Saturday,” he told Cageside Press during the UFC Vegas 17 media day on Thursday.
The key to his success this year has been “lots of working on mindset,” said Tybura. “I feel much better you know, mentally.” Along with that, the Polish heavyweight noted that “I joined a very strong gym,” one that has “a great team, great coach. Everything’s come up together and yeah, here it is. It’s a great feeling every time I step in the octagon.”
Opponent Hardy is well known for his checkered past and NFL days. Inside the cage, Tybura recognizes that Hardy is “a big guy. He starts aggressive.” And as several UFC heavyweights have learned, Hardy “has knockout power in his hands.” But Tybura also sees some weaknesses.
“I don’t think he’s very composed on the ground and [in] wrestling,” he observed. “But still the guy is dangerous. And he proved it in his previous fight.”
Tybura didn’t want to reveal too much of his game plan ahead of the fight. But he did admit that “it’s no secret that [Hardy] knocked out his opponents before. So yeah, my biggest advantage will be on the ground.”
Entering the fight, Tybura is a ranked UFC heavyweight — but Hardy is arguably the better known fighter, at least with the masses. “I see this as an opportunity for me and for him. For me, just [to] rise [up], for a bigger audience, because his name is an opportunity to climb up the rankings,” opined Tybura. “It’s on us, whoever takes advantage of this opportunity.”
Watch the full UFC Vegas 17 media day press scrum with Marcin Tybura above.
