This time out, Gane has been paired up with Serghei Spivac, a surging heavyweight who finally seems to have found his footing in the division. Key wins over Derrick Lewis and Augusto Sakai, both finishes, have the Moldovan big man, a.k.a. “The Polar Bear,” looking like a contender.

Gane has always been a contender, mind you. A former interim heavyweight champion, “Bon Gamin” has twice fought for the UFC’s undisputed heavyweight crown. The problem is, he has lost both those fights, against Francis Ngannou and Jon Jones. Now, Gane looks to bounce back from his loss to “Bones” this past March.

Weigh-ins for UFC Paris take place Friday morning; full results can be found below.

UFC Paris: Gane vs. Spivac Weigh-In Results

Main Card

Heavyweight: Ciryl Gane (250) vs. Serghei Spivac (256)
Women’s Flyweight: Manon Fiorot (125) vs. Rose Namajunas (125)
Lightweight: Benoît Saint-Denis (156) vs. Thiago Moisés (156)
Light Heavyweight: Volkan Oezdemir (205) vs. Bogdan Guskov (205)
Featherweight: William Gomis (146) vs. Yanis Ghemmouri (146)

Preliminary Card

Featherweight: Morgan Charriere (146) vs. Manolo Zecchini (146)
Bantamweight: Taylor Lapilus (135) vs. Caolán Loughran (136)
Welterweight: Ange Loosa (171) vs. Rhys McKee (171)
Women’s Bantamweight: Joselyne Edwards (136) vs. Nora Cornolle (136)
Bantamweight: Farid Basharat (136) vs. Kleydson Rodrigues (134.5)
Women’s 140-Pound Catchweight: Zarah Fairn dos Santos (140) vs. Jacqueline Cavalcanti (139)

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No illness or ailment would scuttle the fight Saturday at UFC Vegas 68, however. Leaving a very motivated Lewis, who looked to be in the best shape of his career ahead of the fight, to face the rising Spivac, winner of five of his last six.

The fight that played out on Saturday night, or morning for those on the east coast, was anything but expected. Serghei Spivac landed a takedown almost immediately off the opening bell, taking Lewis down with a throw. In side control, Spivac looked to make something happen, but Lewis rolled to his knees. That gave up his back, but Lewis would eventually escape up.

He wouldn’t stay up for long. Repeated takedowns from Spivac followed, some simply mat returns that saw Lewis up and down like a yo-yo. Being ragdolled the entire time saw Lewis unable to get off any offense at all essentially. Instead, it was Spivac in the driver’s seat — and eventually, after one more takedown, he got in position for an arm-triangle choke.

An exhausted Lewis gave a light tap, signalling the end. Spivac, inside of a round, had the submission win, becoming just the second man to submit “The Black Beast” following Daniel Cormier.

A FLAWLESS victory for Serghei Spivac! #UFCVegas68 pic.twitter.com/AqUNpPVx6l

— UFC (@ufc) February 5, 2023

“Today, this is my time. Polar Bear is here. Polar bear is coming,” Spivac said following the victory. “Give me someone from top 5!” Jon Jones was one name on his lips — though that fight might be a ways off just yet.

Official Result: Serghei Spivac def. Derrick Lewis by submission (arm-triangle choke), Round 1, 3:05

The post UFC Vegas 68: Serghei Spivac Submits Derrick Lewis in Dominant Showing, Calls for Top 5 Opponent appeared first on Cageside Press.

UFC Vegas 68’s main card gets underway at 1AM ET, with a 10PM start for the prelims Saturday night. That’s thanks in part to the Road to UFC tournament wrapping up at the event, which was originally scheduled to take place in Seoul, South Korea.

The good news for fights fans? If you’re willing to put the time in and stay up into the wee hours of the morning, you could catch both Bellator 290, featuring the retirement of Fedor Emelianenko, and UFC Vegas 68, topped by the heavyweight tilt between Derrick Lewis and Serghei Spivac originally slated for the fall.

Not a bad one-two punch.

Weigh-ins for the event go down Friday in Las Vegas — results can be found below.

UFC Vegas 68: Lewis vs. Spivac Weigh-In Results

Main card

Heavyweight: Derrick Lewis (265) vs. Serghei Spivac (255.5)
Light Heavyweight: Jung Da-un (205) vs. Devin Clark (204.5)
Heavyweight: Marcin Tybura (253.5) vs. Blagoy Ivanov (256.5)
Featherweight: Doo-ho Choi (145.5) vs. Kyle Nelson (145.5)
Welterweight: Yusaku Kinoshita (170.5) vs. Adam Fugitt (170.5)

Preliminary card

Lightweight: Jeka Saragih (155) vs. Anshul Jubli (155.5) — Road to UFC lightweight final
Featherweight: Lee Jeong-yeong (145) vs. Yi Zha (145.5) — Road to UFC featherweight final
Bantamweight: Toshiomi Kazama (136) vs. Rinya Nakamura (135) — Road to UFC bantamweight final
Flyweight: Choi Seung-guk (125.5) vs. Park Hyun-sung (124.5) — Road to UFC flyweight final
Women’s Flyweight: Kim Ji-yeon (125.5) vs. Mandy Böhm (125.5)
Middleweight: Park Jun-yong (185.5) vs. Denis Tiuliulin (186)
Flyweight: Tatsuro Taira (125.5) vs. Jesús Santos Aguilar (125)

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So it was no surprise to see the UFC Vegas 68 headliner defer to opponent Derrick Lewis, when asked what happened to scuttle their original match-up back in November.

“I don’t know, that’s not a question for me, it’s a question for Derrick,” Spivac (15-3) stated during Wednesday’s media day, asked about the highly unusual bout cancellation.

Lewis vs. Spivac, as it was originally booked, was called off with UFC Vegas 65 already underway. Practically unheard of for a main event.

As for when Spivac himself learned of the news, “about ten minutes before I was to leave my hotel room,” he revealed.

Regarding what story he was given about the cancellation, initially said by the promotion to be non-COVID related, “there’s a lot of things that I was told, but he’s the only one that knows the truth,” Spivac stated. “So I didn’t bother thinking about that.”

During Lewis’ own media appearance on Wednesday, he suggested COVID was in fact to blame. After falling ill, he still wanted to compete — and didn’t actually test positive for the disease caused by SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) until returning home.

Spivac’s reaction to Lewis pulling out was far from irate. “I’m very understanding about whatever happened, because we’re not doing a simple job here,” Spivac said. “So I wish him nothing but the best.”

As for any worries about a similar mishap ahead of UFC Vegas 68 this Saturday, “I don’t think about that,” Spivac replied. “I’m ready for everything.”

Watch the full UFC Vegas 68 media day appearance by Serghei Spivac above.

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Lewis vs. Spivac was the original headliner on November 19, topping UFC Vegas 65. With the event already in progress — roughly halfway through — Lewis was pulled from his fight, the result of an undisclosed, non-COVID related illness.

With no hope of finding a replacement for a fight just hours away, Kennedy Nzechukwu vs. Ion Cutelaba was promoted to the headlining slot. But it appears the UFC is still keen on Lewis vs. Spivac, booking it to top the Feb. 4 card at the Apex in Las Vegas.

Originally, the event had been announced for Seoul, South Korea. UFC officials announced the main event and new location Thursday, without specifying what led to the shift.

Just six days ago, however, The Korean Zombie announced that he had suffered a shoulder injury and had been forced to withdraw from the card. While no opponent had been reported for Zombie, he expressed concern at the time that the entire event might be lost as a result of his absence.

“If the Korean [card] is cancelled due to my injury, I’m really sorry for the Korean [fighters] who lost the opportunity to [compete] in front of their family and friends,” the South Korean wrote on social media.

The UFC has traditionally headlined Fight Night cards with regional stars, with The Korean Zombie being their biggest and arguably only option for Seoul currently. That said, Korean fans are losing out on Derrick Lewis.

Lewis (26-10, 1NC) will be looking to snap a two-fight skid in the fight, after being stopped by both Tai Tuivasa and Sergei Pavlovich in 2022. As for Spivac (15-3), he’s won two straight, stopping both Greg Hardy and Augusto Sakai.

Lewis vs. Spivac is the only bout officially announced for the card listed on UFC.com — however a host of other fights had been reported for Feb. 4 prior to the shift, many featuring talent from South Korea and other nearby nations. It’s unclear where those fights will land.

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The MMA Gods had other plans.

As the Fight Night card got underway at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas  — a morning start, locally — rumors swirled that the main event match-up between Lewis and Spivac was off. Multiple sources later informed Cageside Press that the situation was being worked on, with an announcement soon to follow.

A short time later, the promotion officially revealed that the fight was off. During Saturday’s broadcast, a “non-COVID related illness” on the part of Derrick Lewis was cited as the culprit. No further update on the condition of Lewis was available.

The announcement came as the event had already seen five fights in the books.

Lewis had been in search of his first win of 2022, after dropping back-to-back bouts against Tai Tuivasa and Serghei Pavlovich earlier in the year. Though the Pavlovich finish was considered controversial, the end result was still an L on the Texas-based heavyweight’s record — and he made it clear earlier in the week that he did not want a third.

Spivac had been on the opposite trajectory, winning his last two, and five of his last six.

UFC Vegas 65 will now be headlined by the card’s original co-main event, featuring Ion Cutelaba and Kennedy Nzechukwu in a light heavyweight contest.

The post Derrick Lewis vs. Serghei Spivac Main Event Falls Apart Hours Out at UFC Vegas 65 appeared first on Cageside Press.

Yet the Moldovan isn’t concerned about any of that.

Speaking during the UFC Vegas 65 media day this week, Spivak (15-3) told the media that “I didn’t concentrate my attention on the five rounds as opposed to less. I do what my coaches tell me to do, my trainers tell me to do. They tell me what to do, I follow their game plan, and that’s it. I don’t concentrate on how long the fight’s going to be.”

Similar sentiments were expressed by Spivak when he was asked about opponent Derrick Lewis, one of the most popular heavyweights in the promotion.

“It doesn’t matter for me who to fight,” said Spivak. “Derrick is a very good fighter, he’s fought for the belt a few times already. He’s a strong guy, and I’ve prepared for that. It doesn’t matter for me who I’m going to fight. Now it’s Derrick Lewis, and that’s who I’m going to fight.”

Asked if a former title challenger was the sort of match-up he wanted, Spivak again reiterated that who he fights doesn’t matter. Instead, he explained, “the time will show what’s going to happen. I do whatever I can to get to the victory. That’s why I’m here, I’m here to get the victory, I’m here to train for the victory. And what name is in front of me and how loud that name is is not important.”

Watch the full UFC Vegas 65 media day appearance by Sergey Spivak above. The event takes place this Saturday, November 19, 2022 at the Apex in Las Vegas, with prelims kicking off at 1PM ET.

The post UFC Vegas 65: Sergey Spivak Says Name In Front of Him “Is Not Important” appeared first on Cageside Press.

Lewis has said his back is against the wall heading into his third fight of 2022, having lost two straight. Of course, as a hard-hitting fan favorite, it’s unlikely Lewis’ roster spot is on the line, but a third straight loss would potentially relegate him to gatekeeper status, at least for a while.

Spivak, on the other hand, had won two straight, and five of his last six, with the Moldovan finally having found his footing after joining the UFC in 2019.

Weigh-ins for UFC Vegas 65 take place Friday morning in Las Vegas; full results can be found below.

There were no misses at Friday’s UFC Vegas 65 official weigh-in, and no second attempts. Miles Johns was the first to weigh in, while Ricky Turcios weighed in last, about 15 minutes prior to the end of the weigh-in window. The full card is now official.

UFC Vegas 65: Lewis vs. Spivak Weigh-In Results

Main card

Heavyweight: Derrick Lewis (263) vs. Sergey Spivak (254)
Light Heavyweight: Ion Cuțelaba (206) vs. Kennedy Nzechukwu (205)
Heavyweight: Chase Sherman (256) vs. Waldo Cortes-Acosta (259)
Welterweight: André Fialho (170.5) vs. Muslim Salikhov (170)
Welterweight: Jack Della Maddalena (170) vs. Danny Roberts (170)

Preliminary card

Flyweight: Charles Johnson (125.5) vs. Zhalgas Zhumagulov (126)
Women’s Flyweight: Jennifer Maia (125) vs. Maryna Moroz (124.5)
Bantamweight: Vince Morales (136) vs. Miles Johns (136)
Bantamweight: Kevin Natividad (135.5) vs. Ricky Turcios (136)
Women’s Strawweight: Vanessa Demopoulos (116) vs. Maria Oliveira (115.5)
Bantamweight: Brady Hiestand (135) vs. Fernie Garcia (136)
Women’s Flyweight: Natália Silva (125) vs. Tereza Bleda (125.5)

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Derrick Lewis (26-10, 1NC) is set to face Serghei Spivac (15-3) in a five-round heavyweight affair atop the card, promotion officials revealed Saturday. The event is once again expected to be housed inside the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada.

With a combined 28 KOs, these two heavy hitters won't go all 5 rounds 👀@TheBeast_UFC vs Serghei Spivac is OFFICIAL for Nov 19! pic.twitter.com/rtTCGVttGE

— UFC (@ufc) September 24, 2022

The fight finds “The Black Beast” Lewis looking to bounce back from a quick, controversial stoppage loss at the hands of Alexander Romanov at UFC 277. While the fight ended by technical knockout just 55 seconds into the opening round, many watching, including UFC President Dana White, suggested the stoppage had been a little on the quick side.

The defeat was the second straight for Lewis, who was also knockout out by a Tai Tuivasa elbow in February 2022 at UFC 271.

Lewis has fought for both the UFC heavyweight championship and an interim title, but is just 1-3 across his last four contests.

Serghei Spivac is on a markedly different trajectory, having had his hand raised in his last two fights. Those victories, both coming by TKO, have come against notable names in Greg Hardy and Augusto Sakai. Spivac is 5-1 in his last six fights, after the Moldovan went 1-2 to start his UFC tenure.

The UFC’s November 19, 2022 Fight Night card has the following bouts attached:

• Derrick Lewis vs. Serghei Spivac
• Vanessa Demopoulos vs. Maria Oliveira
• Kevin Natividad vs. Ricky Turcios
• Cody Brundage vs. Rodolfo Vieira
• Zhalgas Zhumagulov vs. Charles Johnson
• Muslim Salikhov vs. André Fialho
• Jennifer Maia vs. Maryna Moroz
• Brady Hiestand vs. Fernie Garcia

The post Derrick Lewis vs. Serghei Spivac Announced As UFC’s Nov. 19 Main Event appeared first on Cageside Press.

Ahead of the fight, Sakai had made the move to American Top Team in Florida. But it was Moldova’s Spivac he came prepared with the perfect game plan.

It was Spivac landing an early takedown care of a trip, though Sakai was back to his feet quickly. Spivac caught the Brazilian in a guillotine on the way up, but didn’t have it. He did have another takedown a moment later though, and managed to isolate an arm, land an elbow, and a left hand. Sakai finally scrambled to the fence, but gave up his back, with Spivac getting a hook in. Sakai still managed to regain his footing, only to be dragged back down. Moments later, it was back up, then back down as Spivac landed another trip.

Spivak, from the back, was able to land some hammer fists and punches to the ear. Sakai again made it to the fence, powering up and landing some knees in the clinch. But on the feet, in Sakai’s wheelhouse, it was Spivak landing a clean right hand.

A bloodied Sakai was taken down early again in the second, and when he did get back up, it wasn’t for long. Sakai again gave up his back while on his knees, looking for a way up. That allowed Spivac to land some more shots, and before long, he’d done enough to force the ref to call it.

Official Result: Sergey Spivak def. Augusto Sakai by TKO, Round 2, 3:42

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