Tai Tuivasa facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Tai Tuivasa |
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Tuivasa at UFC 234 in 2019
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| Born | Tai Anthony Tuivasa 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 |
| Fighting out of | Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
| 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 |
| Mixed martial arts record | |
| Total | 22 |
| Wins | 14 |
| By knockout | 13 |
| By decision | 1 |
| Losses | 8 |
| By knockout | 3 |
| By submission | 3 |
| By decision | 2 |
Tai Anthony Tuivasa (born on March 16, 1993) is an Australian professional mixed martial artist. He is known for his powerful punches. He currently competes in the Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of November 2024, he is ranked #11 among UFC heavyweight fighters.
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Early Life of Tai Tuivasa
Tai Tuivasa was born in Sydney, Australia. His mother is Indigenous Australian (from the Wiradjuri people). His father is Samoan. Tai grew up in a place called Mount Druitt in western Sydney. He has 11 brothers and sisters. When he was younger, he mostly played rugby league. He even signed with a professional rugby league team, the Sydney Roosters, in 2010.
Tai Tuivasa's Fighting Career
Starting in Mixed Martial Arts
Tai Tuivasa started his professional MMA career in August 2012 in Australia. For the next four years, he fought sometimes. All of his wins during this time came from knockouts. This means he won by hitting his opponent so they could not continue.
Tai also took part in some mixed rules fights. These fights combine rules from different combat sports. In December 2012, he fought former rugby league player John Hopoate. Tai won this fight by TKO (Technical Knockout). Later, he fought kickboxer Peter Graham. Tai lost this fight by TKO in the second round.
Joining the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)
In November 2016, Tai Tuivasa signed a contract to fight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). The UFC is the biggest mixed martial arts organization in the world. Tai had to wait a while to fight because of a knee injury and surgery.
Tai made his UFC debut on November 19, 2017. He fought Rashad Coulter at an event called UFC Fight Night: Werdum vs. Tybura. Tai won the fight with a flying knee in the first round. This made him the first Indigenous Australian to win a UFC fight. He also earned a "Performance of the Night" bonus for his exciting win.
In February 2018, Tai faced Cyril Asker at UFC 221. He won this fight by technical knockout in the first round. Soon after, he entered the UFC's official rankings for heavyweight fighters. In March 2018, Tai signed a new contract with the UFC.
Tai fought Andrei Arlovski in June 2018 at UFC 225. He won this fight by a unanimous decision. This means all the judges agreed he won.
Tai then faced former UFC Heavyweight Champion Junior dos Santos in December 2018. He lost this fight by technical knockout in the second round.
In 2019, Tai had two more fights. He lost to Blagoy Ivanov by unanimous decision in June. Then, in October, he lost to Serghei Spivac by a submission move called an arm-triangle choke.
Tai was supposed to fight Jarjis Danho in June 2020, but the event was postponed.
Tai returned to the octagon in October 2020 at UFC 254. He won his fight against Stefan Struve by knockout in the first round.
In March 2021, Tai fought Harry Hunsucker. He won by technical knockout in the first round.
Tai faced Greg Hardy in July 2021 at UFC 264. He won this fight by knockout in the first round. This win earned him another "Performance of the Night" award.
Tai was scheduled to fight Walt Harris and then Augusto Sakai in late 2021. His fight with Sakai was moved to December 2021 at UFC 269. Tai won by knockout in the second round. This was his third "Performance of the Night" bonus.
In February 2022, Tai fought Derrick Lewis at UFC 271. Tai won the fight by knockout in the second round. He earned another "Performance of the Night" bonus for this win.
Tai faced Ciryl Gane in September 2022 in Paris, France. Tai knocked Gane down in the second round, but he lost the fight by knockout in the third round. This exciting fight earned both fighters the "Fight of the Night" award.
Tai then fought Sergei Pavlovich in December 2022. He lost this fight by knockout in the first round.
In September 2023, Tai faced Alexander Volkov in Sydney. He lost the fight by a submission move called an Ezekiel choke in the second round.
Tai was scheduled to fight Marcin Tybura in February 2024. The fight was moved to March 2024. Tai lost this fight in the first round by a rear-naked choke submission.
In August 2024, Tai fought Jairzinho Rozenstruik at UFC 305. He lost the fight by a split decision. This means the judges did not all agree on who won.
Awards and Achievements
Tai Tuivasa has earned several awards during his fighting career:
- Ultimate Fighting Championship
- He has won the "Performance of the Night" award four times.
- He won the "Fight of the Night" award one time.
- He is tied for the fourth most consecutive knockouts in UFC history (5 knockouts in a row).
- UFC.com Awards: His fight against Ciryl Gane was ranked #7 "Fight of the Year" in 2022. His win against Derrick Lewis was ranked #8 "Upset of the Year" in 2022.
- Australian Fighting Championship
- He was the AFC Heavyweight Champion one time.
- National Dreamtime Awards 2018
- He won the International Sportsperson of the Year award in 2018.
- MMAjunkie.com
- His knockout win against Greg Hardy in July 2021 was named "Knockout of the Month."
Tai Tuivasa's Personal Life
Tai Tuivasa has one son with Brierley Pedro. Brierley is the sister of former UFC fighter Tyson Pedro.
Tai co-hosts a podcast called "The Halfcast Podcast." His co-hosts are Tyson Pedro and Andrew Fifita.
Since 2018, Tai has a special way to celebrate his wins. He does a "shoey," which means he drinks beer from a borrowed shoe. A newspaper in Sydney even gave him the nickname "Shoeyvasa." At one UFC event, he was not allowed to do the shoey in the cage, but he has continued the tradition since then.
Tai is also a co-owner of Drink West Brewery. He owns it with Tyson Pedro and Nathan Cleary.
In 2024, Tai Tuivasa and his brother Logan won the celebrity edition of The Amazing Race Australia.
Mixed martial arts record
| Professional record breakdown | ||
| 22 matches | 14 wins | 8 losses |
| By knockout | 13 | 3 |
| By submission | 0 | 3 |
| By decision | 1 | 2 |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 14–8 | Jairzinho Rozenstruik | Decision (split) | UFC 305 | August 18, 2024 | 3 | 5:00 | Perth, Australia | |
| Loss | 14–7 | Marcin Tybura | Technical Submission (rear-naked choke) | UFC Fight Night: Tuivasa vs. Tybura | March 16, 2024 | 1 | 4:08 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| 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 | Serghei Spivac | 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 Sosoli | 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) | Combat 8:03 | 27 April 2013 | 2 | 2:55 | Big Top Sydney, Newcastle, Australia | |
| Win | 1–0 | John Hopoate | TKO (punches) | Combat 8:02 | 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
