Marcin Tybura to serve as the backup fighter for UFC London main event between Volkov and Aspinall

Marcin Tybura is on standby as he will serve as the backup fighter for the UFC London main event between Alexander Volkov and Tom Aspinall.

After Russia invaded Ukraine, UFC president, Dana White said the UFC London main event was up in the air as he wasn’t sure if Volkov could enter the country. Although Volkov is now in the country, the next hurdle is having him actually fight. Some Russian athletes have been banned from other major sports competitions by other countries.

According to reports, England was one of the countries that banned Russians from competing. With that, it’s uncertain if Volkov can still compete and at media day, Aspinall confirmed there was a backup fighter for the main event.

 “I had my doubts that this fight wouldn’t take place, especially last week, but it really wasn’t in my hands. When the BBBoC banned all Russians from fighting in the UK, I was like, ‘oh s***, here we go’, but thankfully, so far so good. It was difficult not to know about Volkov,” Aspinall said. “You can lose your *** or just focus on yourself, there were days when I almost lost my ***. Whether he can come or not, my reaction doesn’t change that. There’s still a backup that’s here (Tybura) in case anything changes at the last minute.”

With there still being some uncertainty surrounding the main event as Aspinall said, it was revealed that Marcin Tybura would serve as the backup main event. The Pole confirmed the news over e-mail to BJPENN.com shortly after posting a photo of him in London on Instagram.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Marcin Tybura UFC fighter (@tyburamarcin)

“Made it to London,” Tybura wrote on social media.

It does make sense for Tybura to be the backup fighter as he is ranked ninth at heavyweight and is European so it’s not much travel for him to get to. However, it is interesting he is the backup fighter as he is set to face Jairzinho Rozenstruik at UFC 273 on April 9. But, perhaps he will be facing Tom Aspinall on Saturday in the main event of UFC London.

What do you make of Marcin Tybura being the backup fighter for the UFC London main event?