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USA Today Sports Media Group

Sport

Matt Erickson

UFC on ESPN 61: How to watch Marcin Tybura vs. Serghei Spivac, start time, Las Vegas fight card, odds, more

Serghei Spivac Marcin Tybura ESPN UFC UFC on ESPN 61 Las Vegas Stephanie Luciano Talita Alencar Brendan Fitzgerald Danny Barlow

After a trip to the Middle East, the UFC is back on its home turf this week with a pair of ranked heavyweights at the top of the lineup.

Here’s how to watch UFC on ESPN 61 with big men in the headlining spot, plus bantamweights in the co-feature.

Broadcast and streaming info

UFC on ESPN 61 has a main card that starts at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN and ESPN+. The preliminary card airs on ESPN and streams on ESPN+ at 4 p.m. ET.

Veteran broadcaster Karyn Bryant serves as desk anchor and host at UFC on ESPN 61.

“The Ultimate Fighter 15” winner Michael Chiesa and retired welterweight veteran Alan Jouban joins her as analysts at the desk. Noted octagon announcer Joe Martinez will introduce the fighters before battle at UFC on ESPN 61.

Brendan Fitzgerald will serve as the leading man on the mic from cageside at UFC on ESPN 61.He’ll command play-by-play and be joined in the booth by retired former middleweight champion and UFC Hall of Famer Michael Bisping, as well as former lightweight contender Paul Felder.

(Mike Bohn – MMA Junkie)

Main event: Marcin Tybura

Feb 29, 2020; Norfolk, Virginia, USA; Marcin Tybura (red gloves) fights Serghei Spivac (blue gloves) during UFC Fight Night at Chartway Arena. Mandatory Credit: Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports

Record: 25-8 MMA, 12-7 UFC
Opponent: Serghei Spivac (16-4 MMA, 7-4 UFC)
Division: Heavyweight
Key wins: Tai Tuivasa, Blagoy Ivanov, Alexandr Romanov, Ben Rothwell, Serghei Spivac
Misc.: Tybura snapped a two-fight skid and outworked Spivac for a unanimous decision in February 2020. Now, with wins in three of his past four, he’ll have to try to fend o ff Spivac’s hope to avenge.

Main event: Serghei Spivac

Record: 16-4 MMA, 7-4 UFC
Opponent: Marcin Tybura (25-8 MMA, 12-7 UFC)
Division: Heavyweight
Key wins: Derrick Lewis, Greg Hardy, Aleksei Oleinik, Tai Tuivasa
Misc.: Spivac will try to avenge a loss from more than four years ago when he rematches Tybura. Since that setback, he only has lost to current interim champion Tom Aspinall and, this past September, Ciryl Gane.

Tybura-Spivac I photos

UFC debut: Nikolay Veretennikov

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – SEPTEMBER 21: Nikolay Veretennikov of Kazakhstan walks out prior to facing Michael Morales in a welterweight bout during Dana White’s Contender Series season five week four at UFC APEX on September 21, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)

Record: 12-4
Opponent: Danny Barlow (8-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC)
Division: Welterweight
Key wins: Demarques Jackson, Anthony Ivy
Misc.: Veretennikov lost a shot at the UFC on DWCS in 2021, but has won three straight by stoppage since then.

UFC debut: Stephanie Luciano

Record: 5-1-1
Opponent: Talita Alencar (5-0-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC)
Division: Women’s strawweight
Misc.: Nearly a year after a draw with Alencar on DWCS, Luciano will make her UFC debut. She was supposed to fight in March, but pulled out with a rare bout of Dengue fever.