Outside Source
In May, big men Serghei Spivac (17-6) and Shamil Gaziev (14-1) were matched against one another at UFC Fight Night 256, also known as UFC Vegas 106. Due to event restructuring, the matchup was shifted back three weeks to be placed on UFC 316. Before that June 7 card took place, Gaziev was forced out of the pairing for undisclosed reasons and Waldo Cortes-Acosta replaced him and beat Spivac that night. On Friday, the latter’s management team of Chosen Advisory Group announced that the fight was back together for November.
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This top-ranked affair will now be taking place at UFC Qatar, which will be a UFC Fight Night affair that has not received a numeric designation. While the headliner has not yet been made official, reports indicate that Arman Tsarukyan will throw down with Dan Hooker in a five-round lightweight contest that could serve as a title eliminator. Meanwhile, Spivac-Gaziev is currently the only heavyweight bout rumored for the Middle Eastern show on Nov. 22 at the ABHA Arena in Doha, Qatar, although the entire lineup has yet to be determined.
Different Trajectories Collide in the Middle
Ranked in the No. 10 spot on Sherdog’s Official Rankings at heavyweight, Spivac has fallen on hard times as of late. The Moldovan has dropped three of four, albeit to ranked adversaries Cortes-Acosta, Jailton Almeida and Ciryl Gane. Mixed in with those defeats is a rematch victory over Marcin Tybura, where “The Polar Bear” avenged a 2020 decision loss to the Polish grappler.
While Spivac has only won once in his last four outings, Gaziev has lost just one time across four appearances with the promotion. The Russian debuted at the end of 2023, where he punched out Martin Buday in the second stanza to earn a huge opportunity against Jairzinho Rozenstruik. The Surinamese kickboxer outlasted Gaziev in 2024, forcing Gaziev to retire on his stool at the end of four rounds. Spivac currently rides a two-fight losing streak, and Gaziev has won two in a row over Don’Tale Mayes and Thomas Petersen.
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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