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It’s rare that a headliner finds their way into this space, but Spivac has been on a slow, steady rise over the last two-plus years, carrying him into his first headlining assignment this weekend opposite heavyweight stalwart Derrick Lewis.
Because he had an uneven start to his UFC tenure, it’s easy to forget that Spivac’s first triumph inside the Octagon came against Tai Tuivasa, as he submitted the man currently stationed at No. 4 in the rankings in the second round of their UFC 243 clash in Melbourne. A loss to veteran Marcin Tybura followed, but since then, the 27-year-old from Moldova has amassed a 5-1 record, with his lone setback coming against British contender Tom Aspinall.
Fight By Fight Preview | UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs Spivac
Last time out, Spivac showed his continued progress by playing to his strengths, dragging Augusto Sakai to the canvas, and finishing the Brazilian with strikes on the ground. While the victory over Tuivasa has aged nicely now that “Bam Bam” has turned things around and emerged as a bone fide threat in the division, the Moldovan’s dominance over Sakai was still an eye-opening effort.
What increases the intrigue surrounding Spivac is that he’s still only 27 years old and not that many years into working with an elite coaching staff and collection of training partners. He’s set up shop at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas and that has coincided with his surge in success of late, and as he continues to build there, even more impressive results may follow.