Tai Tuivasa has established himself as one of the most entertaining fighters in the UFC. He walks to the cage to cheesy ’90s classics, celebrates victories with a shoey, and delivers brutal knockouts when it’s time to fight.
However, Tuivasa’s form took a nosedive in the second half of 2022. After extending his KO winning streak to five, he fell short of title contention when he was finished by Ciryl Gane in Paris, France. He was also stopped by Sergei Pavlovich in under a minute in Orlando three months later.
Many believed Tuivasa returned too soon after his setback against Gane, so he went home to enjoy the holiday season with his family and watch UFC 284 in his home country as a fan. But now, it seems he’s ready to spice things up in the heavyweight division.
Since Tuivasa’s last fight, the heavyweight division has undergone some changes. Francis Ngannou vacated the belt and left the promotion, while former two-time light heavyweight champion Jon Jones returned and became the new heavyweight champion. Other fighters like Serghei Spivac, Marcin Tybura, and Alexander Volkov have also recorded victories. However, Tuivasa is not impressed with the division’s recent performances.
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Tuivasa took to Instagram this week to tease his return and implied that he’ll bring some excitement back to the UFC’s heavyweight division. “@ufc Heavyweight divisions been boooooooooooorrrriiiing 🥱,” Tuivasa wrote. “I suppose I should get my fat ass back in the gym 🤣 See y’all soon 👊🏽🤗 #bambam #FTA#westernsydneyy”
With Tuivasa preparing for his first fight of 2023 and Tom Aspinall nearing the end of his recovery timeline, it looks like the heavyweight division will see some big names and matchups later this year.