UFC 238 | Blagoy Ivanov sees clear path to victory over Tai Tuivasa

Blagoy Ivanov got his first UFC win his last time out when he took on Ben Rothwell. Now, the 32-year-old is set to take on another ranked fighter in Tai Tuivasa on the main card of UFC 238 this Saturday.

The Aussie Tuivasa is coming off of the first loss of his career and is ranked above Ivanov which made it an easy decision to accept the fight.

“He’s a tough young guy. I’m excited to fight this guy,” Ivanov said to BJPenn.com. “His style is very attractive, he likes more standup so it will be a good fight.”

Although the Bulgarian is excited to face a striker, he knows he will have the edge on the ground. He says Tuivasa’s ground game is not as good as his, and the Aussie has only fought one good opponent in Junior dos Santos, who he lost to.

“His ground and pound is not very good. I have more experience than him and I spent more time in the cage,” he explained. “We will see, but you never know. One punch can change everything so you never know.”

Ivanov knows he has to initiate his game plan in order to win the fight. But, something he has going for him is the fact that the 26-year-old Tuivasa is coming off of the first loss of his professional career. Ivanov knows losing that first fight is tough to rebound from.

“I think it will be hard for him. When you come from a loss it is hard,” he said. “I think he is a tough guy so we will see. He will be ready too. It should be a good fight.”

However, Ivanov is preparing for the best Tuivasa there is. The former World Series of Fighting champion is more than confident he will win this fight and extend his winning streak to two. Once he does that, he believes he will only be a couple of fights away from fighting for the UFC belt.

“It would mean a lot because I am close to the title,” Ivanov explained. “I need like two or three fights more. Right now, I’m just focused on this fight.”

In the end, all the hard work and preparation is done and the focus has turned to Saturday. Blagoy Ivanov says he has never felt better and can’t wait to showcase his skills to the world once again.

“I feel really good. I’m ready to go, I feel more prepared than my last two fights so we shall see. I’m in good shape right now,” he concluded.

Who do you think will win the UFC 238 fight between Blagoy Ivanov and Tai Tuivasa?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 6/3/2019.