UFC News & FeaturesHeavyweights
Marcin Tybura (26-9) vs. Mick Parkin (10-0)Odds: Parkin (-118), Tybura (-102)
This might not be all that pretty in practice, but it's a well-matched fight that should help answer some questions about rising heavyweight Parkin. A 2022 alum of the Contender Series, Parkin is exactly the type of flier that the UFC should take as a heavyweight that kept winning on the regional scene, but he was still fairly unproven upon his UFC debut; Parkin could use his size and some solid pace to overwhelm some weak competition, but it's unclear exactly how that would hold up against better tests. From that standpoint, Parkin's first three UFC fights were impressive enough; they were three decision wins that never got particularly exciting, but Parkin showed enough stubborn persistence to outwork a higher level of opposition with the hopes he could eventually turn a corner. And that turn might have come in his last fight; Lukasz Brzeski has struggled inside of the UFC, but it was still a surprise to see Parkin knock him out in a shade under three and a half minutes. Still on the right side of 30, it's time for Parkin to get a big test, and so the Englishman gets paired off with perennial test Tybura.
Undersized by heavyweight standards, Tybura needed a bit of time to adjust his game shortly after his 2016 UFC debut, but "Tybur" has since settled in as the gatekeeper to heavyweight contention without ever threatening contention much himself. Tybura's more spry than you'd think and has enough craft to survive, and after usually eating some damage as part of a rough start, he then looks to wrestle and get to a highly-effective backtake game -- if he can't just pound out his opponent on the mat to begin with. It's an approach that can go horribly wrong against a powerful enough puncher, but generally does well to outlast a lot of the brutes that Tybura finds himself against -- which makes this pairing interesting, since Parkin doesn't really fit either of those descriptions. In fact, it's easy to see this fight as a potential point for Parkin to essentially become the new Tybura as a consistent three-round fighter with enough questions to fall short of the heavyweight elite. At any rate, when in doubt it's usually a good idea to pick the more proven fighter, even if there's not a lot separating these two; and even if it's close, if this figures to turn into a sweaty wrestling match, Tybura is the likelier to end things on the mat. The pick is Tybura via decision.
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