What — you thought because the event was taking place in Canada and I too am Canadian that this would be an All-Canadian affair?
As much as I would have liked to shout out one more fellow Canuck, there was no way to overlook the 24-year-old heavyweight newcomer, who makes his UFC debut this weekend against “The Big Ticket,” Walt Harris.
Spivac was tagged in after Aleksei Oleinik was pulled into a pairing with Alistair Overeem a couple weeks ago in Russia, and while that fight didn’t go so well for the veteran grappler, this is an intriguing matchup and tremendous opportunity for the undefeated Moldovan.
Standing six-foot-three and sporting a perfect 9-0 record with nine stoppages, Spivac is one of those quintessential “not sure what we’ve got, but can’t wait to find out” fighters emerging from the Eastern European regional scene.
Winning nine straight fights at any level is difficult and getting nine consecutive finishes increases the degree of difficulty exponentially, and while he’s beaten a few unknowns, he’s also shared the cage with two of the most seasoned heavyweight veterans on the planet, Tony Lopez and Travis Fulton, submitting each in the opening round.
I know it sounds crazy to some people for me to be intrigued by someone who handed Lopez the 29th loss of his career and spoiled Fulton’s 318th professional appearance, but they’re the type of cagey veterans who dispatch pretenders pretty much every other weekend, so Spivac getting through both with ease says a little something.
Harris will be a true litmus test for the newcomer, as he enters on a two-fight unbeaten streak. If Spivac can keep his winning streak intact through the weekend, the heavyweight division will have another intriguing name in its ranks for fans to keep track of going forward.
