Serghei Spivac’s triumph over Derrick Lewis at UFC Vegas 68 has perhaps cemented the end of Lewis’s pursuit as a UFC title contender. The Moldovan heavyweight, at the tender age of 28, decimated Lewis with a first-round arm-triangle choke in the main event of the UFC APEX-located event. Spivac (16-3) effortlessly took Lewis (26-11, 1 NC) to the ground with six successful takedowns, before executing the fight-ending submission with a decisive 3:05 of the opening round stoppage. The victory marks Spivac’s 6-1 record over the past seven UFC bouts, while Lewis’s third consecutive fight loss via stoppage and fourth loss in five octagon appearances adds to his downward spiral.
“Derrick Lewis is great, he fought two times for the title. He’s a legend to me and I love him. But today, this is my time. ‘Polar Bear’ is here and ‘Polar Bear’ is coming,” said Spivac post-fight. Prompted by UFC commentator Michael Bisping, Spivac added, “I want Jon Jones. I respect you so much, but I’m coming.”
The co-main event saw Devin Clark (14-7) securing a dominant victory over light heavyweight prospect Da Un Jung (15-4-1) with a unanimous decision. Clark’s effective takedowns and wrestling style kept Jung off balance, resulting in three unanimous 30-27 scores for Clark, now 2-1 in his past three UFC appearances. Jung’s second loss in his seven-fight UFC career serves as a setback.
Marcin Tybura’s (24-7) UFC winning streak was extended to 7-1 in eight octagon appearances with a decisive win over Blagoy Ivanov (19-5, 1 NC). Judges scored the contest 30-27, 29-28, and 29-28 in favor of Tybura, who called for a re-booked bout against Jairzinho Rozenstruik in his post-fight interview.
In featherweight action, Kyle Nelson (13-5-1) secured a majority draw against Doo Ho Choi (14-1-1) due to a controversial third-round point deduction made by referee Chris Tognoni. Although Choi out-landed Nelson by a large margin, 79 to 39 in total strikes, Nelson’s grinding style and the point deduction resulted in two 28-28 scores from the judges, with the lone dissenter scoring a 29-27 for Choi, keeping him winless in the UFC since July 2016.
See complete UFC Vegas 68 results below:
• Serghei Spivac def. Derrick Lewis via submission (arm-triangle choke) at 3:05 of Round 1
• Devin Clark def. Da Un Jung via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Marcin Tybura def. Blagoy Ivanov via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
• Doo Ho Choi vs. Kyle Nelson ruled a majority draw (29-27, 28-28, 28-28)
• Adam Fugitt def. Yusaku Kinoshita via TKO (ground and pound) at 4:36 of Round 1
Preliminary Card
• Anshul Jubli def. Jeka Saragih via TKO (ground and pound) at 3:44 of Round 2
• Jeong Yeong Lee def. Yi Zha via split decision (29-28, 27-30, 29-28)
• Rinya Nakamura def. Toshiomi Kazama via KO (punch) at :33 of Round 1 | Watch finish
• Hyun Sung Park def. Seung Guk Choi via submission (rear-naked choke) at 3:11 of Round 3
• Jun Yong Park def. Denis Tiuliulin via technical submission (rear-naked choke) at 4:05 of Round 1
• Tatsuro Taira def. Jesus Santos Aguilar via submission (triangle armbar) at 4:20 of Round 1 | Watch finish
