Now the real tests start for Romanov, one of the more intriguing
prospects in the UFC’s heavyweight division. As a man built like a
refrigerator and having run over a relatively weak level of
competition in his native Moldova, it would have been easy to write
off “King Kong” as more of a curiosity than a legitimate future
contender. However, there is a lot to like about Romanov. He has
some surprising agility for a man his size and some actual
wrestling skill, allowing him to typically maul his opponents on
his way to one-sided wins. Adding to the intrigue about Romanov is
that he appears to actually have a decent gas tank. If it is
one-way traffic, Romanov can keep dominating his opponents for
multiple rounds, though his April 2021 win over Juan Espino
saw him start to tire against a rare heavyweight able to keep up
with his grappling ability. Save for the Espino win, most of
Romanov’s UFC career has seen him blow through the lower half of
the promotion’s heavyweight division, so this test against Tybura
is long overdue. Tybura is essentially the gatekeeper to the
heavyweight elite at this point, and it has been an interesting
path for the Pole, who had a bit of a rude awakening early on in
his UFC career. Mostly a wrestling-heavy fighter heading into his
UFC debut in 2016, he found himself essentially unable to move
Tim
Johnson and pivoted to a bit more of a striking-focused
approach as a result. That has served Tybura well, as he has
eventually swung back to a more well-rounded approach. While
“Tybur” still is not particularly imposing by UFC heavyweight
standards, he has found a good amount of success surviving and
outmaneuvering his more one-dimensional adversaries, dragging many
an opponent into deep waters with that wrestling and grappling
skill. Romanov should be able to throw Tybura around early, but the
question is how long the Moldovan can keep it up. Part of that is
dependent on the level of resistance that Tybura can provide, but
the fact that this fight takes place at elevation in Salt Lake City
also has to be a worry for both men. It is possible that Romanov
gasses to the point of being a complete sitting duck for a Tybura
finish by the third round, but the bet is that he can bank the
first round and find enough control time in the back half of the
fight to stay ahead on the scorecards, particularly since “Tybur”
also figures to tire in a wrestling-heavy fight. This could be
horrific by the end, but the pick is Romanov via decision.
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