UFC Vegas 68 Picks: Lewis vs Spivac, Jung vs Clark, Tybura vs Ivanov, Choi vs Nelson, from Las Vegas
The date is set, and this time it’s official: Derrick Lewis vs. Serghei Spivac is set to headline UFC Vegas 68 this Saturday, February 4, inside the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Originally this bout was scheduled in November to headline a Fight Night card, but COVID-19 forced Lewis’ exit.
This card starts abnormally late - the prelims start at 10 p.m. ET and the main card is slated for 1 a.m. ET - because it was originally arranged to take place in Seoul, South Korea. Unfortunately plans to return to South Korea were dashed when “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung suffered an injury that left him unable to compete at the start of 2023.
UFC Vegas 68 features 14 Asian-born fighters, with all but two fights involving a fighter of Asian descent.
Continue reading for a preview of UFC’s first Apex event of the year.
UFC Vegas 68 Main Card
Derrick Lewis vs. Serghei Spivac
Da-Un Jung vs. Devin Clark
Marcin Tybura vs. Blagoy Ivanov
Dooho Choi vs. Kyle Nelson
Yusaku Kinoshita vs. Adam Fugitt
UFC Vegas 68 Prelims
Jeka Saragih vs. Anshul Jubli
Jeongyeong Lee vs. Yi Zha
Toshiomi Kazama vs. Rinya Nakamura
Seungguk Choi vs. Hyunsung Park
Ji Yeon Kim vs. Mandy Bohm
Junyong Park vs. Denis Tiuliulin
Tatsuro Taira vs. Jesus Aguilar
Derrick Lewis (26-10) vs. Serghei Spivac (15-3)
Derrick “The Black Beast” Lewis, set to turn 38 years of age this February, is looking to get back in the victory column with a win over contender Serghei Spivac.
No doubt, Lewis is past his prime and time has essentially run out in terms of being a contender in the heavyweight division. Despite that, Lewis’ knock out reputation and glowing popularity allow him to headline main events like this one.
Lewis has lost his last two fights in unsightly fashion, getting knocked out by Tai Tuivasa and Sergei Pavlovich. He’s looking to turn the tide and add to his UFC record 13 knockout victories, but his last losses have been very concerning.
Spivac hasn’t fought the most quality competition during his time in the UFC, but it’s tough to argue with the results. He’s coming off two big wins, including a knockout of Greg Hardy, which propelled his status.
Spivac has beaten Tuivasa - who Lewis lost to - but the circumstances were much different for Lewis, who fought Tuivasa coming off a four-fight win streak, while Spivac faced Tuivasa after two straight losses. The one time Spivac fought a big-time opponent, Tom Aspinall, he was knocked out in less than three minutes.
Despite being a decade younger and a substantially better athlete, this will be a tough test for Spivac. One thing that seems certain between these two knockout artists is this one won’t be headed to the judge's scorecard.
My pick: Serghei Spivac
Da-Un Jung (15-3-1) vs. Devin Clark (13-7)
Now a loser of three of his past four fights dating back to November 2020 and 32 years of age, Devin Clark will most likely be fighting for his job in the UFC. Clark has been with the company for six years but has yet to show much improvement, constantly fluctuating in the win column.
Da-Un Jung started undefeated (4-0-1) in his first five fights with the company before being knocked out by Dustin Jacoby in just over three minutes. This was a crushing loss, but he can get back on track with a win against Clark.
Jung stands in at 6-foot-4 and could easily fight at heavyweight, which he did briefly early in his career, but has moved down to light heavyweight. Jung has brilliant power but has trouble landing takedowns, only registering one in his UFC career. Still, he should have the advantage standing on his feet.
My pick: Da-Un Jung
Marcin Tybura (23-7) vs. Blagoy Ivanov (19-4)
Blagoy Ivanov, the former longtime PFL/WSOF Heavyweight Champion, will be making his seventh appearance in the UFC, looking to tip the scales in his bout with Marcin Tybura.
Ivanov, 36, like Lewis, is past his heyday, but can surely pack a punch. He’s willing to sit in the pocket, take punches and can be very entertaining to watch.
Tybura rattled off five straight wins from February 2020 to June 2021 but was upended in a loss to Alexander Volkov. Regardless, Tybura re-entered the win column in his last fight, narrowly edging Marcos Rogerio de Lima by judge's decision.
Ivanov is going to be tough to take out, but anything can happen with one punch in the heavyweight division.
My pick: Marcin Tybura
Dooho Choi (14-4) vs. Kyle Nelson (13-5)
This fight raises the most questions on the main card.
Now 31 years of age, Dooho Choi hasn’t fought since December 2019 and hasn’t won a fight since July 8, 2016. It’s hard to expect anything considering the time he’s spent on the sidelines.
Kyle Nelson is theoretically in better shape, but not by much. Nelson is 1-4 in his UFC fights and has only fought four times since 2019.
Expect plenty of rust.
My pick: Dooho Choi
This might be the thinnest card of the year, but it’s better than a week off! You can watch both the prelims and main card on ESPN+.