Australia’s latest UFC cult hero Tai Tuivasa just wants to ‘knock ***** out’
Aussie cult hero Tai Tuivasa is taking the UFC by storm and he’s determined to continue on his merry way, one knockout at a time.
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Australia’s latest UFC star Tai Tuivasa is on a mission to “knock ***** out” and make the sport more entertaining in the process.
Tuivasa stunned the MMA world last month when he upset Derrick Lewis with an epic knockout victory at UFC 271.
The 28-year-old somehow survived a barrage of blows from Lewis in the first round before landing a brutal elbow to the American’s head early in the second round, sending him crashing to the canvas.
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“I’m a banger, this is what I do,” Tuivasa told news.com.au when asked how he managed to stay standing during Lewis’ early onslaught.
“It’s what I believe. This is what I’m built for. I love it. You know, I knew I was getting hit with some heavy shots but it wasn’t nothing that I was too worried about, you know what I mean.
“I saw it all before. The fight went exactly how I thought it was going to go.
“The win is what I wanted to get and it’s why I got so pumped. I’m on the top of the world.”
Tuivasa has catapulted into cult hero status with his antics in and out of the octagon.
His walkout music for the Lewis fight was Cyndi Lauper’s classic hit Girls Just Wanna Have Fun and he celebrated the biggest win of his career by climbing on top of the cage and doing a shoey.
Tuivasa recently returned to Sydney and said he’s getting used to fans recognising him more and more.
“Yeah, a lot more people come up to me,” he said.
“It’s expected. But to be honest I haven’t been out much, the weather’s been sh*t, stuck in the house.
“It’s expected, you know. And it’s good, I love my fans, I love to be home. I love it all. It’s all good.”
The Western Sydney product, aptly nicknamed “Bam Bam”, made his UFC debut in 2017 and has built up a massive fan base who admire his confidence to come out swinging at the start of every fight.
“I’m fun, I like to knock people out,” Tuivasa said.
“I’m a fighter. There’s not much technical things about me. I like to get in there, I like to entertain the fans and I’m doing pretty good at it.”
Tuivasa is intent on bringing some crash and brash to the UFC’s heavyweight division, which can produce less entertaining fights than the lighter weight classes.
“I bring the style brother,” he said.
“I bring the style, I am the style. It’s Bam Bam. I go out there and knock ****s out. I am the style.”
With the win over Lewis, Tuivasa is inching closer to getting a shot at fighting for the heavyweight belt.
“I’m definitely not far away,” he said.
“It’s definitely in the conversation, everyone’s been bringing it up. But I leave that to my team. I’ve got a good group of people around me and we’ll discuss that I’m sure we’ll go forward with whatever they think is the right decision.
“But definitely it’s not far away. I’d love to definitely have a title fight or title shot back here in at home or New Zealand. It’s some exciting times ahead.”
Heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou showed off his grappling skills to defend his belt against Ciryl Gane in a title fight the Aussie described as “a bit boring”.
Tuivasa would love the chance to take on either Gane or Ngannou, but knows he will have to improve the more technical aspects of his fighting.
“I’d love to fight them and they’re the best,” he said.
“I’m always down for a challenge and always up to challenge myself.
“You don’t stop learning in this sport and that’s one thing that I’ve come to accept and got better at.
“I just keep learning. My attitude towards my job has changed a lot and it obviously speaks in the success I’ve been getting. I’m always learning and this is a sport you can’t stop learning, you know what I mean.
“Obviously I like to do one side of the fight — to stand up and exchange and that — but I also have to train everything else.”
For now, Tuivasa is enjoying some down time recovering at home but a potential fight with American Stipe Miocic looms as his next task later this year.
“Right now, just doing what I’m doing — enjoying being home, enjoying being a dad right now,” he said.
“My team is giving me that time off. I’ve kind of worked hard the past two years. So just having a bit of time off now and fix a few injuries, let my body heal and then when it’s time to roll, we’re back on.”
Originally published as Australia’s latest UFC cult hero Tai Tuivasa just wants to ‘knock ***** out’
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