UFC heavyweight Tai Tuivasa lifts the lid on his sparring sessions with Mark Hunt and Paul Gallen
The only man to have sparred both Mark Hunt and Paul Gallen can’t believe ‘someone with 25 years in combat sports is being told how he could get beat by a retired footballer.’
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Tai Tuivasa knows how it feels to be hit by Mark Hunt.
Same story, Paul Gallen.
With Australia’s cult UFC heavyweight the only man to have sparred against the two men who will throw down at Bankwest Stadium on December 16.
So put simply, who wins?
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“Mark by KO,” Tuivasa says, without pause. “Probably in the fourth.”
Right, and as for the power difference between them?
“Well, one hits like a man,” the fighter dubbed Bam Bam continues, smile widening. “While the other … yeah, think being hit by a train.”
A close friend of Hunt for the best part of 10 years, Tuivasa will also be cornering the 46-year-old fight legend when he looks to hand Gallen (9-0-1) the first loss of his professional boxing career.
While Hunt has spent over 20 years taking on a murderer’s row of opponents — think names like Wanderlei Silva, Mirko Cro Cop, Antonio Silva, Stipe Miocic, Junior dos Santos and Fedor Emelianenko — Gallen most recently fought to a draw against AFL great Barry Hall.
The MMA legend also boasts a string of highlight reel knockouts in the UFC, which includes his signature ‘walk off’ KO.
“So I think it’s funny, watching the way media are treating this fight,” Tuivasa told News Corp on Thursday.
“I get that Australia is a rugby league country, it’s who we are.
“But to think someone like Mark, a guy who has put 25 years into combat sports, is now being told how he could get beat by a retired footballer – that’s pretty funny.
“And I understand they have to sell the fight
“But Mark Hunt comes into this having knocked out some of the best fighters in the world.
“But for Paul Gallen … well, I wouldn’t class Barry Hall as any type of fighter, let alone world class.
“Obviously I take my hat off to Gal for taking the fight. He’s going in at the deep end.
“But I really think he’s in for it.”
Quizzed on Gallen, who famously gave Tuivasa a black eye during a 2017 sparring session, the UFC heavyweight continued: “Gal as an athlete is top of the line, he really is.
“And I would assume anything he does he would be good at.
“But being good at something and beating Mark … they’re two very different things.”
After cornering Hunt on December 16, Tuivasa will then spend Christmas with his young family before jetting out to the United States for an extended camp at the AKA gym of retired UFC champ Daniel Cormier.
After winning his most recent fight at UFC 254 in October – a stunning first round KO of Stefan Struve – the Mt Druitt father will look to take his game to a new level in the US.
“The plan is to go there and keep fighting,” Tuivasa said.
“Which is tough with a family, but this is the sacrifice I have to make.
“If I work hard for a couple of years I can really set my son up for life.
“Plus the caliber of training partners over there, it’s exactly what I need. It will completely change me as a fighter.”
Hunt’s brutal drug sledge at ‘full-time grub’ Gallen
Mark Hunt wants Paul Gallen drug tested before their hyped Sydney heavyweight bout, describing the retired NSW Origin star as a “full-time grub”.
Only a fortnight out from their December 16 showdown at Bankwest Stadium, Hunt has welcomed Gallen’s offer to undergo testing following suggestions the 39-year-old could be taking performance-enhancers to overcome a serious bicep injury.
Only last week, UFC legend Hunt went public over concerns his rival — who was involved in the 2011 Cronulla peptides scandal — may now be using steroids to overcome a troublesome bicep injury suffered during training.
A noted anti-drugs campaigner, Hunt is also suing the UFC over his 2016 fight with American megastar Brock Lesnar, who afterwards tested positive to clomiphene.
“So of course I’d like to see Gallen tested,” Hunt said after a Wednesday training session at Newcastle’s Steel City Boxing Gym.
“As I’ve told people all along, this fight has to be fair.
“It’s why when signing on, I said drug tests and everything should be done.
“Because if it’s not an even playing field then what are we doing here?
“It’s like with my suing of the UFC, why have the testing policies, the bans and all this other s… if you don’t enforce them?”
While Gallen has already admitted to being “disappointed” by the steroid questioning, Hunt stressed he had fought too many drug cheats in his storied career and was initially cautious after two conversations with the now Channel 9 analyst.
“Paul called me a while ago and said he had done his bicep in sparring,” Hunt explained.
“So I just said good luck with the recovery and thought it would automatically see him out for a year.
“But then four days later, he calls again to say ‘we’re on’.
“I thought ‘wait a minute, how is this possible?’. So that’s why I’ve asked him if he’s taking steroids.
“He says no so I’ll take his word for it.”
Pushed on his concerns, Hunt continued: “I don’t know how you can get away with that injury without surgery.
“But that isn’t on my conscience, it’s on his.
“I’ve done all I can, asked for testing and everything else.
“I’ve also asked him the question and he says ‘no’.
“So I’ll accept that.
“I just want things to be fair.
“People who cheat in sport, everything they’ve done is meaningless.
“Because you took a shortcut.
“That’s the way I see it and why I’m suing others because of it.”
Elsewhere, Hunt also labelled Gallen a “part time fighter and full-time grub” and fired back at the retired Sharkies captain for suggesting his mantra of being prepared to die in the ring was “ridiculous”.
“Paul says I’m too old, too fat, too slow, all the good stuff,” Hunt continued. “He’s also made fun of why I fight, saying to look at the way I fight is a joke.
“So why is he here then? Is it for his ego?
“I know Paul says he’s a part-time fighter.
“Part time fighter, full time grub.
“(Laughs) And I had to put that in there.
“But unlike Paul, I’m not a part-time fighter.
“I said I would die in the ring and I mean it. I’m a modern day gladiator and I accept the ultimate ending.”
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