Blagoy Ivanov sees his fight with Marcin Tybura at UFC Fight Night 218 playing out on their feet.
Although Tybura (23-7 MMA, 10-6 UFC) has landed 19 takedowns throughout his octagon tenure, Ivanov (19-4 MMA, 3-3 UFC) envisions more of a standup battle when the pair throw down on Saturday’s main card at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The card streams on ESPN+.
“He’s good everywhere,” Ivanov told reporters at Wednesday’s media day. “I’m prepared for this, and I think it’s gonna be more standup.”
He continued, “We’ll see who is the better fighter on Saturday, and I will try to stop him.”
Ivanov hasn’t competed since defeating Marcos Rogerio de Lima last May at UFC 274. The Bulgarian heavyweight revealed that a knee injury kept him out of action, but considering that he only fought once in the past two years, he doesn’t view it as a large layoff.
“My last fight was May, nine months ago,” Ivanov said. “So I got an injury during the preparation for my last fight and then after the fight I did my recovery. That’s why I took so long to fight again, but nine months is nothing for me.”
Watch the video of Ivanov’s complete pre-fight media availability above.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 218.
