UFC Fight Night: Marcin Tybura beats Tai Tuivasa, Ovince Saint Preux back with a bang v Kennedy Nzechukwu

UFC Fight Night was back in Las Vegas on Saturday, with the headline bout of Marcin Tybura against Tai Tuivasa returning a technical-submission victory for the Polish veteran.

With Tuivasa on a three-bout losing streak, 'Bam Bam' was in desperate need of a victory, but was forced into a submission after just four minutes of the opening round.

Tybura caught Tuivasa in a rear-naked choke hold despite the Australian landing an early barrage of blows.

Tuivasa had been the favourite ahead of the fight and that early storm showed why. Tybura was bloodied and looking unbalanced, but picked his moment perfectly, landing the crucial takedown to bring the fight to the mat. Tuivasa's struggles on the floor were well known, and from there the character of the fight changed completely.

Once grounded, Tuivasa could do little to stop the inevitable and Tybura made things look simple from there.

Speaking after the fight, Tybura was delighted with his victory.

He said: "I feel awesome because I think it was an exciting fight. Many things happened in this one and I got a win over a very strong opponent."

The veteran moves to a 25-8 career record, while his vanquished opponent slips to 14-7.

In the welterweight division, Bryan Battle's bout with Ange Loosa was ruled a no contest after an accidental eye poke by Battle but the fight nearly continued out of the ring, with the two fighters having to be separated by security.

In the light heavyweight division, Ovince Saint Preux made his return after 18 months out with a split-decision win over Nigeria's Kennedy Nzechukwu.

Elsewhere, Macy Chiasson continued to progress towards a potential title shot after making light work of Pannie Kianzad in the women's bantamweight division.

In the first fight on the main card, Gerald Meerschaert handled Bryan Barberena with ease, putting the former lightweight to sleep in the second round of their middleweight fight.

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