Heavyweight fan favorite Tai Tuivasa attempts to snap an uncomfortable six-fight losing streak when he enters the octagon Saturday to face late-notice replacement Louie Sutherland at UFC Perth, and “Bam Bam” knows his job could be at risk.
Back to action less than four months after losing a decision to Tallison Teixeira in Sydney and winless since February 2022, Tuivasa believes his popularity is the reason why he keeps getting opportunities in the UFC despite being on the longest losing skid by a heavyweight in the promotion’s history.
“My ass is on the line,” Tuivasa said at UFC Perth media day. “Like, it’s probably been on the line a lot of the time [laughs], but I f*cking put asses in the seat, so it is what it is. I feel good and I’m going to go out there and do what Bam Bam does, in Bam Bam style. Not f*cking lose, d*ckheads [laughs].”
Tuivasa said “it gets sh*ttier when you lose,” but he has taken “a lot of positives away” from his last fight.
“I’m competing at the top level, but it’s still a sh*t feeling,” Tuivasa said. “I’ve put the work in, so I better go out there and do my thing. … I got to go out there and put it all together. My team is good, my camp has been awesome, it’s f*cking on me now.”
“I didn’t get the result I wanted the last fight but we did take a lot away,” he added. “We took a lot of good away from it. I’ve been trying not to get tapped out by these f*cking jiu-jitsuers but it is what it is. And I felt like I didn’t I did well not to get tapped out the last fight. F*ck, he had some long arms. I could feel him going for it but, again, it is what it is. I don’t want to really keep dwelling on the past fights, but I f*cking feel good.”
Tuivasa was originally slated to face off with Sean Sharaf, who was forced off the card due to an injury. Asked whether or not he was worried the promotion wouldn’t be able to find a replacement in time to stay on the Perth card, he answered in the most Tuivasa way possible.
“I’m on a six-fight losing streak. F*cking shouldn’t be that hard to get me a fight,” Tuivasa said with a laugh. “Get someone from the pub or something, please. F*cking man needs something.”
The heavyweight veteran now holds a record of 14-9 after losing six straight in the UFC against Ciryl Gane, Sergei Pavlovich, Alexander Volkov, Marcin Tybura, Jairzinho Rozenstruik and Teixeira, and blamed him himself for treating every matchup as if his opponent would just stand and trade punches.
“My arms died, which was a weird feeling for me because I need them to punch,” Tuivasa said of the Teixeira fight. “Look, I kind of went in thinking this guy’s gonna have a swat, like I always do. I always think like this for all the fighters. I always think, ‘Oh, yeah, they’re come and have a bang.’ That’s f*cking boxing. This is MMA. And then I end up on my back. I was expecting a bang on with him, but it ended on the ground. And then we just went to our game plan on the ground, which was ‘f*cking don’t get tapped out.’ And I did it. I listened to my coaches. Yeah, f*ck. This is sh*t sport sometimes, Highest of the highs, lowest of the lows, but it is what it is. I love it.”
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