‘I watched a person I know get gunned down’ - Inside Tai Tuivasa’s long journey in the UFC
Tai Tuivasa has had his fair share of ups and downs in the UFC Octagon.
Just moments after his loss to Sergei Spivak at UFC 243 in Melbourne in 2019, a devastated Tai Tuivasa draped a t-shirt over his face and fell into an embrace with his good mate Tyson Pedro.
It wasn’t just the emotion of his defeat that overcame the heavyweight fighter.
Just days earlier, one of his friends, Daniel King, was shot and killed in a shootout with police outside Penrith Police Station.
According to reports, King’s life had been in turmoil. He had suffered a series of serious sporting-related head injuries, and was under the influence of drugs when he shot at the house of his girlfriend, before firing at the police station with a shotgun.
He was shot 24 times in an incident that was caught on camera.
A proud product of Western Sydney who represents his people every time he steps into the Octagon, King’s death hit Tuivasa hard.
“My friend got (killed) by the cops,” he says bluntly. “It was a rough patch for me.
“I’ve lost a lot of people I looked up to due to losing their mental strength and drugs and whatever else. I watched a person I know get gunned down.
“He was going through his own struggles, he had some things on his plate and he wasn’t in the right.
“You can’t go and shoot at coppers and think they’re not going to shoot you back. I think it was suicide by…whatever you call it.
“But he was in a group of my older people and they’ve all kind of gone off the rails.”
Covid hit not long after the Spivak loss – his third in a row – and the death of his mate, and Tuivasa was out of the cage for more than a year.
It was a long time to think, and to stew.
With an infectious personality, Tuivasa is known for knockouts, doing shoeys and his eclectic choices in walkout music, including A Thousand Miles by Vanessa Carlton, My Heart Will Go On by Celine Dion and Aqua’s Barbie Girl.
His more reflective side is something most fans don’t ever see.
“I’ve learned a lot, through everything,” he says. “My streak of losses, it could’ve been for other reasons.
“Underlying reasons and outside influences. But I’ve grown and I’ve learned since those days, you’ve just gotta be strong in your mind.”
His comeback was spectacular.
In the space of 15 months Tuivasa peeled off five consecutive knockout wins, none of which lasted more than two rounds as he climbed the UFC’s heavyweight rankings.
That run ended in a fight of the night slugfest against Ciryl Gane last September, and he followed it up with a 54-second defeat to Sergei Pavlovich in December.
Which brings us to UFC 293 in Sydney next weekend, where Tuivasa faces Alex Volkov.
He knows he needs a big performance, but his current two-fight skid is nothing compared to the professional and personal turmoil he went through in 2019.
“It’s been hard, but we get through it,” he said. “I’m from Western Sydney, we’re resilient, we’re built from different things.
“I’m on a two loss streak, so this is my only thought right now – just moving forward.
“I’m fighting at home too, so I’ve gotta do something big.”
Tuivasa has very fond memories of fighting in his hometown.
The last time the UFC came to the Harbour City, Tuivasa made his promotional debut with a highlight reel knockout of Rashad Coulter.
The win earned him a cult-like following, but it’s the post-fight celebrations he remembers the best.
“I walked out of the arena while the fights were still going, and all my family had left as well,” he says. “They all had cases and were drinking out the front.
“They came with cases, hid them in the bushes, then after I fought, they all went out and I met them outside.”
His mate Daniel King wasn’t there drinking, but his younger brother, who is the same age as Tai, was.
At one point the police showed up and asked what was going on.
“I was like, ‘We’re partying’, and they were like, ‘Ok, well, keep it down and move to the park’, so we moved over to the park down the road and kept going.
“That’s what I remember most.”
If all goes to plan next weekend, and Tuivasa gets back in the win column, he could be looking at a title shot at any point in the next 12 months.
He’ll also be celebrating with a few cans – and a shoey or two – of his very own beer.
Drink West, the lager he founded with Pedro and Penrith Panthers superstar Nathan Cleary, has been flying off the shelves.
Tuivasa and Pedro have even opened a bar and a brewery in Penrith.
The kid from Mount Druitt is also invested in a flower shop as he prepares for life after fighting.
Not bad, considering where he started out in life.
“This chapter of my life, I’ve watched a lot of people blow it away, so I’m taking my opportunity,” he says. “I’m taking it with two hands and running like it’s stolen.
“It ain’t where you start, it’s where you finish.”
Originally published as ‘I watched a person I know get gunned down’ - Inside Tai Tuivasa’s long journey in the UFC
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