UFC 269: Tai Tuivasa’s second act proves he’s more than just a heavy hitter

Tai Tuivasa just recorded his fourth consecutive UFC knockout win, but there’s so much more to like than just his brutal power.

Sydney heavyweight Tai Tuivasa recorded a fourth consecutive win at UFC 269. Picture: Carmen Mandato/Getty Images

Tai Tuivasa’s stunning second-round knockout of Augusto Sakai might have been delivered in familiar fashion, via a huge left hook and a flurry of heavy hands, but outside the big shots and Shoey celebrations, the Western Sydney fighter displayed massive improvements.

The win – which took place on a blockbuster UFC 269 card in Las Vegas – is Tuivasa’s fourth stoppage victory in 14 months.

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It will likely see the Western Sydney product move back into the heavyweight rankings next week.

All this just three years and 10 days after his defeat to Junior dos Santos which, in turn, kick-started a three-fight losing streak that threatened to end his career while it was just getting started.

Call this Bam Bam’s second act.

Tai Tuivasa showed more than just power in his win over Augusto Sakai at UFC 269. Picture: Carmen Mandato/Getty Images

After a long wait to crack the UFC, Tuivasa wasn’t mucking around after making his debut in Sydney in November 2017. He reeled off two first-round finishes, before scoring a unanimous decision win over former heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski.

A year after his debut, his phenomenal rise continued when he was given the opportunity to headline a Fight Night card in Adelaide against another former heavyweight champ in Brazil’s Junior dos Santos.

The fight was going well for Tuivasa. Until it wasn’t.

Following a promising opening round, he was caught early in the second. A raging bull, whose attack was too reliant on power, a rattled Tuivasa reverted to what he’d always done: swinging for the fences.

Too experienced to fall into the trap, dos Santos clipped Tuivasa’s chin again, sending him to the canvas. Referee Herb Dean stopped the fight 50 seconds later.

Two more losses followed. A decision defeat to Blagoy Ivanov was a frustrating performance, while a second-round submission loss in front of a record crowd at UFC 243 in Melbourne in October 2019 had the likeable slugger on the UFC chopping block.

The low point: Tuivasa is beaten by Sergey Spivak at UFC 243 in Melbourne. Picture: Jeff Bottari/Zuffa/Zuffa/Getty Images

Something needed to change. The power that had him earmarked as a future title contender had become a crutch. When power wasn’t working, there was rarely an effective back-up plan. Opponents with a strong wrestling base proved to be his downfall.

His first step was getting out of Australia for some elite-level training. In early 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic was still just a vague threat, he began working alongside Daniel Cormier and Cain Velasquez at American Kickboxing Academy in San Jose.

He was only able to stay for five weeks before the pandemic sent him back home, but the brief stint opened his eyes to the level of commitment and sacrifice required to not only get to the top, but stay there once you do.

In October 2020 – the same day as his beloved Penrith Panthers played the NRL Grand Final against Melbourne – Tuivasa fought experienced veteran Stefan Struve. A fourth consecutive loss would likely have seen him cut from the roster.

He performed with all the desperation of a man fighting for his future, and earned another signature knockout win with just one second remaining in the first round.

The second act: Tuivasa knocks out veteran Stefan Struve in the first round. Picture: Josh Hedges/Zuffa/Getty Images

Tuivasa’s second act – the comeback – continued with a one-minute demolition of late-notice replacement Harry Hunsucker five months later. The upward trajectory continued when he signed on to fight former NFL star Greg Hardy on the main card of Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier’s trilogy bout in July.

Hardy’s high-profile stems more from his charges of domestic abuse than his 75-game NFL career, and Tuivasa entered the fight as the warm crowd favourite.

His performance – another devastating first-round knockout – transformed Tuivasa from a cult hero figure to an out-and-out superstar overseas.

Which brings us to this weekend.

All four of Tuivasa’s wins over the last year have come via knockout. But that statistic alone overshadows the incredible developments he has made.

Now based in Dubai, Tuivasa is a more patient fighter than the tearaway who burst onto the scene in 2017 and 2018.

Sakai is left lying on the canvas as Tuivasa celebrates a fourth consecutive win. Picture: Jeff Bottari/Zuffa/Getty

He didn’t land a punch until one minute, 11 seconds into the opening round against Sakai. Instead he feinted with his head and hips, gauged distance with both hands and stayed light on his feet.

He switched stances throughout and largely kept Sakai off balance and unable to land anything significant.

Guilty of head-hunting early in his career, he targeted Sakai’s midsection.

The pair clinched through the middle of the opening round, and Tuivasa displayed plenty of the knowledge he absorbed from Cormier and Velasquez at AKA.

The groundwork that he laid in the opening round set the platform for his stunning finish early in the second.

Where he’d been quick to slide backwards out of range of Sakai’s jabs in the first, Tuivasa stood his ground and countered with a check left hook which landed on the Brazilian’s chin. It was the beginning of the end. Tuivasa stalked his wounded opponent and rendered him unconscious 10 seconds later.

Tuivasa has earned the moniker ‘Shoeyvasa’ for his post-fight celebrations. Picture: Carmen Mandato/Getty Images

His celebratory Shoey on the cage is going viral, but another post-fight moment offers a revealing snapshot into Tuivasa the person.

Sakai didn’t regain his feet for well over a minute after the knockout, and his left leg was stuck awkwardly underneath him.

Before exiting the cage for more celebratory beers, Tuivasa made the effort to approach Sakai to check on his well-being, shake hands and say thanks for the fight.

“I’m a banger from f***in’ Western Sydney,” he said with a smile on his face in his post-fight interview afterwards.

His vocabulary leans more towards the vulgar, but the man with an FTA (From The Area) tattoo inked on the inside of his lower lip is a lot classier than he’s often given credit for.

And his performance against Sakai proves he has many more tools in his arsenal than just pure power.

Originally published as UFC 269: Tai Tuivasa’s second act proves he’s more than just a heavy hitter