Marcin Tybura is headlining his first ever UFC event when he battles former UFC Heavyweight Champion Fabricio Werdum at UFC Fight Night Sydney.
The heavyweight contender was originally supposed to fight Mark Hunt at the event, but Hunt was pulled from the event due to health concerns. The concerns from the UFC came up after Hunt penned an article about the health problems he has experienced as a fighter and Tybura says that Hunt simply shouldn’t have said what he said in that article.
“We all try to show that this is a sport; it’s not only striking somebody in the head,” Tybura said to MMA Junkie. “I don’t think he should say some stuff like this. But I also don’t think I should be the one to say if somebody is healthy to fight or not. I don’t actually know all the details. I’ve just seen the news, the interview he did. I think he shouldn’t say that. He shouldn’t say that.”
Since Hunt was pulled from the event by the UFC, a threat of a second lawsuit has been hanging in the air between the fighter and the promotion. Hunt is currently in the midst of a class action lawsuit against the UFC, accusing the promotion of racketeering, fraud and conspiracy.
Despite losing the opportunity to fight Hunt, the heavyweight contender is happy to be fighting one of the best competitors in the world.
“It’s really special for me to fight a Top-2 fighter in the world already in Fabricio,” Tybura said. “I recognize (he’s) one of the best heavyweights in the world – even the best, because he beat Fedor (Emelianenko) in his prime time, and he beat Cain (Velasquez) at a time when he was unbeatable. This guy has something special. I know he’s good. This is the top. That’s what I wanted to do when I came into the UFC, and now it’s happening. So I’m just happy.”
UFC Fight Night Sydney takes place on Saturday, November 18 from the Qudus Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia with Fabricio Werdum and Marcin Tybura headlining. Fightful is providing live coverage of the event, which airs live on Fox Sports 1.
