AARON CRIDER, MMATorch Contributor
Lewis is pure, unadulterated power but he sorely lacks technique and endurance. Tybura is a more well-rounded fighter, and has strength both in his arms and legs. Not to mention he can dominate the ground game. I’m not one to count out a good, solid punch to end a fight (which is what it would take for Lewis to win), but I see Tybura picking his shots and having his way with Lewis.
SEAN COVINGTON, MMATorch Contributor
Derrick Lewis is coming off of a loss so it’s time for him to win 5+ fights and then get knocked out by a knockout artist. Marcin Tybura is probably going to come into the fight looking to set a pace and Lewis will just throw everything he has at him and KO Tybura in the first round. Even if it’s a good fight I’m not intrigued by the future of either fighter. I’d love to elaborate but that’s all that can be said about these two, Derrick Lewis will become a gatekeeper this year and Marcin will probably end up in Bellator by early 2019.
FRANK HYDEN, MMATorch Contributor
I think Derrick Lewis wins a sloppy but exciting fight with Marcin Tybura by first round TKO. Maybe this goes into the second round, but I do think we’ll get fireworks here. I could be wrong, and we get a total dud, but I don’t expect that. Maybe that’s more hope than expectation, but we’ll see. This will be close, but I think it ends violently with Lewis having his arm raised at the end.
DAVE KOULA, MMATorch Contributor
This is another in a series of solid heavyweight matchups that are starting to really form a clear divisional hierarchy. Derrick Lewis has just enough skill with power to spare that makes him very dangerous for the first round and a half, whereas Marcin Tybura is a solid enough all-around fighter with a strong chin and has proven to be dangerous into the later rounds. It’s a bad matchup for the “Black Beast” and I think we see Tybura take some early damaged but wear him down and go for an easy finish on an exhausted opponent likely in the third round.
MICHAEL HISCOE, MMATorch Contributor
My hunch is that Derrick Lewis is a shot fighter. He had the back issues that hindered his performance against Mark Hunt and temporarily retired as a result. Marcin Tybura put on a solid performance in a losing effort against Fabricio Werdum last year where he showed that he can at least hang with the very best heavyweights in the world. I think Tybura takes the win over an unmotivated Lewis.
COLE HENRY, MMATorch Contributor
I think that Derrick Lewis will probably win this fight with his ground and pound. Tybura has shown some skill on the ground but Lewis is strong and Tybura will probably look to keep the fight on the feet to avoid the thunderous ground and pound. Of course, Lewis has power on the feet as well, so he can hurt Tybura there just as easily. This is heavyweight so anything can happen but I think that the likely outcome is that Lewis will win this one in the second round with strikes on the ground.
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