Tai Tuivasa facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Tai Tuivasa |
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Tai Tuivasa at UFC 234
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| Born | 16 March 1993 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
| Other names | Bam Bam |
| Residence | St Marys, New South Wales, Australia |
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (188 cm) |
| Weight | 266 lb (121 kg; 19 st 0 lb) |
| Division | Heavyweight |
| Reach | 75 in (191 cm) |
| Stance | Orthodox |
| Team | Bangtao Muay Thai & MMA Tiger Muay Thai & MMA American Kickboxing Academy (2020–present) TK MMA & Fitness (2021–present) |
| Years active | 2012–present |
| Professional boxing record | |
| Total | 7 |
| Wins | 5 |
| By knockout | 3 |
| Losses | 2 |
| Kickboxing record | |
| Total | 16 |
| Wins | 14 |
| By knockout | 10 |
| Losses | 2 |
| By knockout | 1 |
| Mixed martial arts record | |
| Total | 20 |
| Wins | 14 |
| By knockout | 13 |
| By decision | 1 |
| Losses | 6 |
| By knockout | 3 |
| By submission | 2 |
| By decision | 1 |
Tai Tuivasa (born 16 March 1993) is an Australian professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Heavyweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of 7 November 2023, he is #9 in the UFC heavyweight rankings.
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Early life
Tuivasa was born in Sydney to an Indigenous Australian (Wiradjuri) mother and a Samoan father. He grew up in the western Sydney suburb of Mount Druitt with 11 siblings, and predominantly played rugby league in his youth. He was signed by the professional Sydney Roosters rugby league club in 2010 but gave up playing the sport when he developed a gambling addiction.
Mixed martial arts career
Early career
Tuivasa made his professional MMA debut in August 2012 in his native Australia. He fought sporadically over the next four years, with all of his wins ending in knockouts.
Tuivasa also fought a couple MMA mixed rules bouts with Combat 8 promotions. Tuivasa fought Australian former rugby league representative John Hopoate on 1 December 2012 in the Newcastle Panthers FC arena at Combat 8:02, the second Combat 8 event, winning the fight by TKO. Tuivasa later fought kickboxer Peter Graham at Combat 8:03, in a back and forth brawl that seemed as if Tuivasa would finish his opponent early on. Yet as the fight went on, Graham rallied and Tuivasa tired, leading to an eventual loss for Tuivasa via TKO in the second round due to punches.
Ultimate Fighting Championship
In November 2016, it was announced that Tuivasa had signed a four-fight contract with the Ultimate Fighting Championship. According to Tuivasa, he had to sit out for an extended period due to a knee injury and subsequent surgery.
Tuivasa would make his UFC debut against Rashad Coulter on 19 November 2017 at UFC Fight Night: Werdum vs. Tybura. Tuivasa won the fight via knockout due to a flying knee in the first round and became the first indigenous Australian to win a UFC fight. This win also earned him the Performance of the Night bonus.
Tuivasa faced Cyril Asker on 11 February 2018 at UFC 221. He won the fight via technical knock out in the first round. On 13 February 2018 Tuivasa entered the UFC's official rankings for heavyweight fighters, coming in at position 15.
In March 2018, Tuivasa signed a new, four-fight contract with UFC. Tuivasa faced Andrei Arlovski on 9 June 2018 at UFC 225. He won the fight by unanimous decision.
Tuivasa faced former UFC Heavyweight Champion Junior dos Santos on 2 December 2018 at UFC Fight Night 142. He lost the fight via technical knockout in round two.
Tuivasa faced Blagoy Ivanov on 8 June 2019 at UFC 238. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.
Tuivasa faced Sergey Spivak on 6 October 2019 at UFC 243. He lost the fight via arm-triangle choke in the second round.
Tuivasa was scheduled to face Jarjis Danho on 6 June 2020 at UFC 251. However, on 9 April, Dana White, the president of UFC announced that this event was postponed to a future date.
Tuivasa faced Stefan Struve on 24 October 2020 at UFC 254. He won the fight via knockout in the first round.
Tuivasa was scheduled to face Don'Tale Mayes on 20 March 2021 at UFC on ESPN 21. However, Mayes was removed from the fight during the week leading up to the event for undisclosed reasons and was replaced by promotional newcomer Harry Hunsucker. Tuivasa won the fight via technical knockout in round one.
Tuivasa faced Greg Hardy on 10 July 2021 at UFC 264. He won the fight via knockout in round one. This win earned him the Performance of the Night award.
Tuivasa was scheduled to face Walt Harris on 30 October 2021 at UFC 267. However, Harris pulled out of the bout and Tuivasa was scheduled to face Augusto Sakai on 20 November 2021 at UFC Fight Night 198. However due to visa issues for Tuivasa, the bout was scrapped. The pair was rescheduled and eventually met on 11 December 2021 at UFC 269. Tuivasa won the fight via knockout in the second round. The win also earned Tuivasa his third Performance of the Night bonus award.
Tuivasa faced Derrick Lewis on 12 February 2022 at UFC 271. Tuivasa won the fight via knockout in round two. The win earned him a Performance of the Night bonus award.
Tuivasa faced Ciryl Gane on 3 September 2022 at UFC Fight Night 209. Despite a knockdown for Tuivasa in the second, he lost the fight via knockout in round three. This fight earned him the Fight of the Night award.
Tuivasa faced Sergei Pavlovich on 3 December 2022, at UFC on ESPN 42. He lost the fight via knockout in round one.
Tuivasa faced Alexander Volkov on 10 September 2023, at UFC 293. He lost the fight via ezekiel choke in the second round.
Tuivasa is scheduled to face Marcin Tybura on February 17, 2024, at UFC 298.
Championships and accomplishments
- Ultimate Fighting Championship
- Performance of the Night (four times) vs. Rashad Coulter, Greg Hardy, Augusto Sakai and Derrick Lewis
- Fight of the Night (one time) vs. Ciryl Gane
- Australian Fighting Championship
- AFC Heavyweight Champion (one time)
- National Dreamtime Awards 2018
- National Dreamtime Awards 2018 International Sportsperson of the Year.
- MMAjunkie.com
- 2021 July Knockout of the Month vs. Greg Hardy
Personal life
Tuivasa has one son, with Brierley Pedro who is the sister of UFC light heavyweight fighter Tyson Pedro.
Tuivasa currently hosts "The Halfcast Podcast" with Tyson Pedro and Andrew Fifita as co-hosts.
Since 2018, Tuivasa has celebrated his victories by doing a shoey, drinking beer from a borrowed shoe. Sydney newspaper The Daily Telegraph coined the moniker "Shoeyvasa". At UFC 254, he won again but was not allowed to do the shoey in the cage, but has since continued the tradition.
Mixed martial arts record
| Professional record breakdown | ||
| 20 matches | 14 wins | 6 losses |
| By knockout | 13 | 3 |
| By submission | 0 | 2 |
| By decision | 1 | 1 |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 14–6 | Alexander Volkov | Submission (Ezekiel choke) | UFC 293 | September 10, 2023 | 2 | 4:37 | Sydney, Australia | |
| Loss | 14–5 | Sergei Pavlovich | KO (punches) | UFC on ESPN: Thompson vs. Holland | December 3, 2022 | 1 | 0:54 | Orlando, Florida, United States | |
| Loss | 14–4 | Ciryl Gane | KO (punches) | UFC Fight Night: Gane vs. Tuivasa | September 3, 2022 | 3 | 4:23 | Paris, France | Fight of the Night. |
| Win | 14–3 | Derrick Lewis | KO (elbow) | UFC 271 | February 12, 2022 | 2 | 1:40 | Houston, Texas, United States | Performance of the Night. |
| Win | 13–3 | Augusto Sakai | KO (punches) | UFC 269 | December 11, 2021 | 2 | 0:26 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Performance of the Night. |
| Win | 12–3 | Greg Hardy | KO (punches) | UFC 264 | July 10, 2021 | 1 | 1:07 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Performance of the Night. |
| Win | 11–3 | Harry Hunsucker | TKO (punches) | UFC on ESPN: Brunson vs. Holland | March 20, 2021 | 1 | 0:49 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Win | 10–3 | Stefan Struve | KO (punches) | UFC 254 | October 24, 2020 | 1 | 4:59 | Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates | |
| Loss | 9–3 | Sergey Spivak | Technical Submission (arm-triangle choke) | UFC 243 | October 6, 2019 | 2 | 3:14 | Melbourne, Australia | |
| Loss | 9–2 | Blagoy Ivanov | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 238 | June 8, 2019 | 3 | 5:00 | Chicago, Illinois, United States | |
| Loss | 9–1 | Junior dos Santos | TKO (punches) | UFC Fight Night: dos Santos vs. Tuivasa | December 2, 2018 | 2 | 2:30 | Adelaide, Australia | |
| Win | 9–0 | Andrei Arlovski | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 225 | June 9, 2018 | 3 | 5:00 | Chicago, Illinois, United States | |
| Win | 8–0 | Cyril Asker | TKO (punches and elbows) | UFC 221 | February 11, 2018 | 1 | 2:18 | Perth, Australia | |
| Win | 7–0 | Rashad Coulter | KO (flying knee) | UFC Fight Night: Werdum vs. Tybura | November 19, 2017 | 1 | 4:35 | Sydney, Australia | Performance of the Night. |
| Win | 6–0 | James McSweeney | TKO (corner stoppage) | AFC 17 | October 15, 2016 | 1 | 5:00 | Melbourne, Australia | Defended the AFC Heavyweight Championship. |
| Win | 5–0 | Brandon Sololi | KO (elbow) | AFC 16 | June 18, 2016 | 1 | 0:21 | Melbourne, Australia | Won the AFC Heavyweight Championship. |
| Win | 4–0 | Gul Pohatu | TKO (punches) | Urban Fight Night 5 | December 12, 2015 | 1 | 0:44 | Liverpool, Australia | |
| Win | 3–0 | Erik Nosa | TKO (punches) | Gladiators Cage Fighting: Gladiators 3 | November 9, 2012 | 1 | 0:28 | Sydney, Australia | |
| Win | 2–0 | Aaron Nieborak | TKO (punches) | Gladiators Cage Fighting: Gladiators 2 | August 31, 2012 | 1 | N/A | Sydney, Australia | |
| Win | 1–0 | Simon Osborne | TKO (punches) | Elite Cage Championships 2 | July 6, 2012 | 1 | N/A | Sydney, Australia | Heavyweight debut. |
Professional boxing record
| 7 fights | 5 wins | 2 losses |
| By knockout | 3 | 0 |
| By decision | 1 | 2 |
| By disqualification | 1 | 0 |
| No. | Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round, time | Date | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | Loss | 5–2 | Demsey McKean | UD | 3 | 15 April 2016 |
The Melbourne Pavilion, Flemington, Victoria, Australia |
Frank Bianco Cup Eight Man Heavyweight tournament Final |
| 6 | Win | 5–1 | David Tuitupou | UD | 3 | Frank Bianco Cup Eight Man Heavyweight tournament Semi Final | ||
| 5 | Win | 4–1 | Hamad Alloush | TKO | 2, (3) 1:33 |
Frank Bianco Cup Eight Man Heavyweight tournament Quarter Final | ||
| 4 | Loss | 3–1 | Michael Kirby | UD | 3 | 3 April 2014 | Eight man heavyweight tournament final | |
| 3 | Win | 3–0 | Willie Nasio | TKO | 1, (3) 2:00 |
Eight man heavyweight tournament Semi final | ||
| 2 | Win | 2–0 | Brett Smith | DQ | 1, (3) 3:00 |
Eight man heavyweight tournament Quarter final | ||
| 1 | Win | 1–0 | Nathan McKay | KO | 3, (4) 2:57 |
13 December 2013 | Olympic Park Sports Centre, Homebush, New South Wales, Australia | Professional debut |
Kickboxing record
| 14 wins, 2 losses | ||||||||
| Date | Result | Opponent | Event | Location | Method | Round | Time | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 October 2014 | Loss |  Ismael Lazaar |
GFC Heavyweight Tournament, Semi Finals | Dubai, UAE | TKO (punches and knees) | 2 | 1:32 | |
| Legend: Win Loss Draw/No contest Notes | ||||||||
MMA mixed rules record
| Professional record breakdown | ||
| 2 matches | 1 win | 1 loss |
| By knockout | 1 | 1 |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 1–1 | Peter Graham | TKO (punches) | Combat8:03 | 27 April 2013 | 2 | 2:55 | Big Top Sydney, Newcastle, Australia | |
| Win | 1–0 | John Hopoate | TKO (punches) | Combat8:02 | 1 December 2012 | 1 | 1:40 | Wests City, Newcastle, Australia |
See also
In Spanish: Tai Tuivasa para niños
- List of current UFC fighters
- List of male mixed martial artists
