Submitting or knocking out Ivanov would be a major accomplishment for Tybura, who has nothing but admiration for the skills and toughness that his opponent brings to the table.
Ivanov has only been beaten four times in his 24 career professional fights, three by decision and once by submission, and all at the hands of top tier competition (Augusto Sakai, Derrick Lewis, Junior Dos Santos, Alexander Volkov). Adding a win over Ivanov would be the perfect start to 2023 for Tybura, who is determined to make a statement with his performance.
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“I based everything I did in this fight with the goal to finish the fight. We came up with a gameplan and we improved everywhere. Everything is there in my mind,” Tybura told UFC.com. “He’s a tough guy. Some might say he’s a lower ranking than me, but I don’t think he’s way behind these guys in the top 10. I see Blagoy as a very tough guy who’s really hard to finish and that’s my biggest challenge.”
Tybura has approached every second of this training camp for Ivanov with the intention of finishing the fight as quickly as possible. That maximum effort in training is something that Tybura is confident will translate when the two heavyweight stalwarts collide.