Tai Tuivasa
Bam Bam
Australia
Losing streak hits five
Tuivasa lost to Jair Rozenstruik via split decision (30-27, 28-29, 27-30) at UFC 305 on Saturday in Perth, Australia.
ANALYSIS
Tuivasa entered having lost four straight fights via stoppage. He saw the final bell here, so he's moving in the right direction. Of course, he wasn't all that competitive, with the 30-27 scorecard in his favor being one of the worst in recent memory (that judge was later pulled from scoring any further fights on the card). Tai is an underrated athlete for his size, and the power is clearly legitimate, but both his output and cardio have always been poor, and he has zero means of generating secondary offense. The UFC loves him, as evident by the fact he was given a main card slot here on a Pay-Per-View, but it's going to be hard to run Tuivasa back out there given how badly he's struggled of late.
Tuivasa entered having lost four straight fights via stoppage. He saw the final bell here, so he's moving in the right direction. Of course, he wasn't all that competitive, with the 30-27 scorecard in his favor being one of the worst in recent memory (that judge was later pulled from scoring any further fights on the card). Tai is an underrated athlete for his size, and the power is clearly legitimate, but both his output and cardio have always been poor, and he has zero means of generating secondary offense. The UFC loves him, as evident by the fact he was given a main card slot here on a Pay-Per-View, but it's going to be hard to run Tuivasa back out there given how badly he's struggled of late.
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Rozenstruik up next
Tuivasa is scheduled to compete against heavyweight Jair Rozenstruik at UFC 305 in Perth on Aug. 18, per Marcel Dorff of Eurosport.nl.
ANALYSIS
For his next fight, Tuisava will again compete in Australia, this time at Perth instead of Sydney. He has struggled since his last win in 2022, losing four consecutive bouts via some type of finish. Fortunately for Tuivasa, while Rozenstruik is not struggling like the Australian is, the former's inconsistency since the pandemic has not been resolved, which could allow Bam Bam to get back on track in August.
For his next fight, Tuisava will again compete in Australia, this time at Perth instead of Sydney. He has struggled since his last win in 2022, losing four consecutive bouts via some type of finish. Fortunately for Tuivasa, while Rozenstruik is not struggling like the Australian is, the former's inconsistency since the pandemic has not been resolved, which could allow Bam Bam to get back on track in August.
Fourth straight stoppage loss
Tuivasa lost to Marcin Tybura via technical submission (rear-naked choke) at 4:08 of Round 1 at UFC Fight Night on Saturday in Las Vegas.
ANALYSIS
If you've seen one Tuivasa fight, you've seen them all. In what was essentially a pick 'em, Tai started quickly, smashing Tybura with an early elbow and opening up a cut on his opponent. Yet, he eventually found himself along the fence, and after battling hard, was taken down by his opponent. From there, the fight was over. Tuivasa simply doesn't have the knowledge or skill set to survive on the mat against a talented grappler such as Tybura. If he doesn't land an early knockout on his opposition, he almost certainly isn't going to win. It's really difficult to see the UFC cutting Tuivasa, but he's lost four fights in a row, all via stoppage. Stranger things have happened.
If you've seen one Tuivasa fight, you've seen them all. In what was essentially a pick 'em, Tai started quickly, smashing Tybura with an early elbow and opening up a cut on his opponent. Yet, he eventually found himself along the fence, and after battling hard, was taken down by his opponent. From there, the fight was over. Tuivasa simply doesn't have the knowledge or skill set to survive on the mat against a talented grappler such as Tybura. If he doesn't land an early knockout on his opposition, he almost certainly isn't going to win. It's really difficult to see the UFC cutting Tuivasa, but he's lost four fights in a row, all via stoppage. Stranger things have happened.
Moved into headline spot
Tuivasa's scheduled heavyweight matchup against Marcin Tybura has been moved to the main event of UFC Vegas 87 on March 16, Marcel Dorff of Eurosport.nl reports.
ANALYSIS
It's a bit disappointing to see a fan-favorite like Tuivasa fight at the UFC Apex instead of a capacity crowd that he likely would have seen at UFC 298, but he'll now get to defend his top-10 rankings spot in a main event. The announcement didn't disclose if it would be a five-round fight, however, which could be a disadvantage for a fighter like Tuivasa who tends to go for broke early. He was originally pegged as a (-125) favorite over Tybura -- a quality opponent who lost to now-interim champion Tom Aspinall in his last UFC appearance.
It's a bit disappointing to see a fan-favorite like Tuivasa fight at the UFC Apex instead of a capacity crowd that he likely would have seen at UFC 298, but he'll now get to defend his top-10 rankings spot in a main event. The announcement didn't disclose if it would be a five-round fight, however, which could be a disadvantage for a fighter like Tuivasa who tends to go for broke early. He was originally pegged as a (-125) favorite over Tybura -- a quality opponent who lost to now-interim champion Tom Aspinall in his last UFC appearance.
Scheduled against Tybura
Tuivasa will compete against Marcin Tybura in a heavyweight fight at UFC 298 in Anaheim on Feb. 17, according to Marcel Dorff of Eurosport.nl.
ANALYSIS
Tuivasa will look to get back into winning ways with a win over Tybura. The former has not won any fights since losing to Cyril Gane back at UFC Paris in September 2022. Following the Gane loss, Tuivasa suffered back-to-back losses to Russian heavyweights Sergei Pavlovich and Alexander Volkov.
Tuivasa will look to get back into winning ways with a win over Tybura. The former has not won any fights since losing to Cyril Gane back at UFC Paris in September 2022. Following the Gane loss, Tuivasa suffered back-to-back losses to Russian heavyweights Sergei Pavlovich and Alexander Volkov.
Third straight stoppage loss
Tuivasa lost to Alexander Volkov via submission (Ekeziel choke) at 4:37 of Round 2 at UFC 293 on Saturday in Sydney, Australia.
ANALYSIS
It's rare to see Tuivasa is these prolonged fights, but he actually did pretty well here considering the massive edge Volkov possessed in terms of technical skill and all-around ability. Tai made a point to damage Volkov's lead leg with kicks, and it really worked. The issue for Tuivasa was that he absorbed too much damage at distance, which drained his gas tank and ultimately allowed his opponent force him to the mat and close the show. Tuivasa won five in a row from October 2020 to February 2022, all via knockout, but he's had three straight stoppage defeats since. The UFC needs to be a bit more careful regarding the quality the opposition it matches him up against.
It's rare to see Tuivasa is these prolonged fights, but he actually did pretty well here considering the massive edge Volkov possessed in terms of technical skill and all-around ability. Tai made a point to damage Volkov's lead leg with kicks, and it really worked. The issue for Tuivasa was that he absorbed too much damage at distance, which drained his gas tank and ultimately allowed his opponent force him to the mat and close the show. Tuivasa won five in a row from October 2020 to February 2022, all via knockout, but he's had three straight stoppage defeats since. The UFC needs to be a bit more careful regarding the quality the opposition it matches him up against.