Tuivasa Hopes to Once Again Taste Beer Out of a Shoe at UFC 298
Tai Tuivasa is a hard guy not to like. The Australian heavyweight has an infectious personality and fun fighting style. Leaving aside celebrating victories cage side by drinking beer out of a shoe, Tuivasa has been a breath of fresh air in the UFC’s heavyweight division, which is usually filled with intimidating men with serious demeanors.
Tuivasa’s return at UFC 298 comes at a crossroads in his career. He has lost three consecutive bouts, all against top competition. However, Tuivasa won’t be able to turn things around unless he can figure out how to get back in the win column. Tuivasa, still ranked No. 9 in the heavyweight division, will see a step down in competition against No. 10 Marcin Tybura in his next fight.
While Tybura is entirely at the level of competition where Tuivasa has fought most recently, there is still plenty of danger in this matchup for Tuivasa. Over the past three years, Tuivasa has developed into a fan favorite. The question for him will be if he can continue to maintain his level of fighting other ranked contenders or if he will be moved back down the card to fight middle-of-the-pack heavyweights.
The UFC’s heavyweight division is thin outside of the top 10 contenders, and a personality like Tuivasa’s is vital to maintain interest in the division while the title is held up as champion Jon Jones is injured.
Climb to UFC Was Quick for Tuivasa
During Tuivasa’s career, his penchant for having wild fights was noticed on the regional scene. It took Tuivasa six fights to be offered a UFC contract. During Tuivasa’s 8-0 At the start of his career, all eight fights ended in a knockout.
Tuivasa is 8-6 during his tenure in the UFC and 14-6 overall. Most of his losses have come to the top fighters in the division. Early losses in his career included a knockout loss to Junior dos Santos, a decision loss to Blagoy Ivanov, and a submission loss to Serghei Spivac.
But things took a turn for Tuivasa after the pandemic.
Knocking Out Hardy Grew Tuivasa’s Legend
There will be fewer more satisfying knockouts in UFC history than when Tuivasa put Greg Hardy out just 67 seconds into their fight at UFC 264 in July 2021. Hardy, a former Dallas Cowboys standout, came into the promotion with significant controversy behind him as he had faced accusations of domestic abuse. In front of a large crowd in Las Vegas, Tuivasa knocked Hardy senseless to improve to 12-3 in his career.
It was part of a five-fight winning streak for Tuivasa. He followed that win up with knockouts of Augusto Sakai and Derrick Lewis to shoot up the heavyweight rankings. What that did for Tuivasa was help cement him as a possible contender for a title shot. The reality of fighting tougher competition quickly spoiled Tuivasa’s positive momentum.
Top Competition Squashes Tuivasa
Running off five straight wins was great for Tuivasa. He got a raised profile and developed a nice fanbase. But facing off against top heavyweights proved difficult for Tuivasa, who, at 6-foot-2, isn’t the tallest man in his division. In Tuivasa’s fight against former interim champion Cyril Gane, Tuivasa scored a knockdown but was knocked out in the third round after taking repeated body shots followed by a flurry of punches.
In Tuivasa’s next fight, he looked overwhelmed against future interim title challenger Sergei Pavlovich, who knocked him out in 54 seconds. The most recent loss may be the most concerning.
Sure, Alexander Volkov is a former Bellator heavyweight champion, but he is significantly older than 30-year-old Tuivasa. Volkov leaned on his wrestling to earn a second-round submission in Sydney, Australia. Now sitting at 14-6, Tuivasa has some major challenges ahead to try and climb the rankings again.
Tybura Has Also Knocked out Hardy
Tybura has a few similarities to Tuivasa on his resume. He also lost to Volkov and picked up a knockout victory over Hardy. The Polish fighter hasn’t had a slew of top-tier competition like Tuivasa has been tasked with facing recently.
Tybura’s last fight was a big disappointment for the Polish fighter. Fighting against a returning Tom Aspinall, Tybura got flatted in 73 seconds. Aspinall would finish Tybura with elbows and punches before beating Pavlovich for the interim title later this year.
Tybura is a well-rounded fighter who is comfortable in nearly any situation. He isn’t afraid to be in the clinch or to lean on his grappling. Tybura has a 24-8 career record. During those fights, Tybura had nine knockouts, six submissions, and nine wins by decision.
Tybura is a potential knockout target. He has been knocked out five times during his eight career losses.
Fight Will be Crossroads for Both Men
Tuivasa is only 30, but if he continues to take knockouts, there may be health concerns to his continuing to fight. During Tuivasa’s career, he has been able to draw his opponents into wild brawls. The best MMA news sites show that it will be tough against Tybura.
While Aspinall was able to put Tybura away early, that isn’t the type of fight Tybura likes to be in. He prefers to be in the clinch and along the fence. Tuivasa has shown an ability to strike effectively out of those positions. In the most famous win of Tuivasa’s career, he knocked out Lewis along the fence.
This is an important fight for both men on the edge of the top 10 in the UFC. While a championship run by either man seems highly unlikely, any run like that would have to start with a win at UFC 298. Tybura will be desperate to keep any MMA breaking news at the event from featuring Tuivasa doing his trademark “shoey” outside the cage.
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