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Tai Tuivasa appears to have dismissed any possibility of a quick turnaround to fight at UFC 284 in his home country of Australia.
The 29-year-old heavyweight is set to meet the surging Sergei Pavlovich on the main card of UFC Orlando. Pavlovich dropped his UFC debut against Alistair Overeem in 2018 but has won four-straight fights since then and stopped all four opponents inside the first round.
It wasn’t that long ago that Tuivasa was in a similar position to Pavlovich, as “Bam Bam” earned five-straight stoppage wins that culminated in a fight with Ciryl Gane for the UFC’s interim heavyweight title earlier this year.
The 29-year-old old was knocked out by Gane and could reasonably have waited until 2023 to take another fight, especially with UFC 284 already scheduled to take place in Tuivasa’s home of Australia.
“Bam Bam” was asked at the UFC Orlando media day if he’d like to appear on that card after fighting Pavlovich, but Tuivasa indicated he’s looking forward to some time off.
“February, that means camp would have to be over Christmas and New Years,” Tuivasa explained. “I wanted to spend Christmas with my son. It popped up (Orlando fight) and I thought it was a great opportunity to get paid and get to enjoy Christmas. I’ll be there, and obviously I’d love to fight in front of the Australian fans, but I’ve been pretty active. I’m keen to finish the year off with a bang, get back in the win column, and then have a bit of a rest.”
“I’ll Be There In The Crowd”
Tuivasa’s fighting style means that a brutal knockout is always a possibility, but “Bam Bam” maintains that even a quick win at UFC Orlando won’t convince him to fight at UFC 284.
“Look, I’m more excited to be pissed at the side of the ring than starving myself over Christmas. Christmas is a time for family, and I’ve been away from home for a long time now. That’s one thing I’m very excited about. So, sorry Australia, but I’ll be there in the crowd, hyping up from the crowd.”
Tuivasa was stopped in the third round of his most recent fight against Gane. (Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)
With the status of current champion Francis Ngannou still unclear and the specter of Jon Jones always looming over the heavyweight division, a win at UFC Orlando could put the #4-ranked Tuivasa right back into the mix for a title shot.
The bout between Tuivasa and Pavlovich will be the only matchup above middleweight at UFC Orlando, which is headlined by a welterweight contest featuring Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson and Kevin Holland.
What do you make of Tuivasa’s explanation for why he isn’t planning on fighting at UFC 284 in Australia?
Please provide transcription credit with a link to this article if you use any of these quotes.
Tai Tuivasa appears to have dismissed any possibility of a quick turnaround to fight at UFC 284 in his home country of Australia.
The 29-year-old heavyweight is set to meet the surging Sergei Pavlovich on the main card of UFC Orlando. Pavlovich dropped his UFC debut against Alistair Overeem in 2018 but has won four-straight fights since then and stopped all four opponents inside the first round.
It wasn’t that long ago that Tuivasa was in a similar position to Pavlovich, as “Bam Bam” earned five-straight stoppage wins that culminated in a fight with Ciryl Gane for the UFC’s interim heavyweight title earlier this year.
The 29-year-old old was knocked out by Gane and could reasonably have waited until 2023 to take another fight, especially with UFC 284 already scheduled to take place in Tuivasa’s home of Australia.
“Bam Bam” was asked at the UFC Orlando media day if he’d like to appear on that card after fighting Pavlovich, but Tuivasa indicated he’s looking forward to some time off.
“February, that means camp would have to be over Christmas and New Years,” Tuivasa explained. “I wanted to spend Christmas with my son. It popped up (Orlando fight) and I thought it was a great opportunity to get paid and get to enjoy Christmas. I’ll be there, and obviously I’d love to fight in front of the Australian fans, but I’ve been pretty active. I’m keen to finish the year off with a bang, get back in the win column, and then have a bit of a rest.”
“I’ll Be There In The Crowd”
Tuivasa’s fighting style means that a brutal knockout is always a possibility, but “Bam Bam” maintains that even a quick win at UFC Orlando won’t convince him to fight at UFC 284.
“Look, I’m more excited to be pissed at the side of the ring than starving myself over Christmas. Christmas is a time for family, and I’ve been away from home for a long time now. That’s one thing I’m very excited about. So, sorry Australia, but I’ll be there in the crowd, hyping up from the crowd.”
Tuivasa was stopped in the third round of his most recent fight against Gane. (Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)
With the status of current champion Francis Ngannou still unclear and the specter of Jon Jones always looming over the heavyweight division, a win at UFC Orlando could put the #4-ranked Tuivasa right back into the mix for a title shot.
The bout between Tuivasa and Pavlovich will be the only matchup above middleweight at UFC Orlando, which is headlined by a welterweight contest featuring Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson and Kevin Holland.
What do you make of Tuivasa’s explanation for why he isn’t planning on fighting at UFC 284 in Australia?
Please provide transcription credit with a link to this article if you use any of these quotes.
Click here to view the article.
The 29-year-old heavyweight is set to meet the surging Sergei Pavlovich on the main card of UFC Orlando. Pavlovich dropped his UFC debut against Alistair Overeem in 2018 but has won four-straight fights since then and stopped all four opponents inside the first round.
It wasn’t that long ago that Tuivasa was in a similar position to Pavlovich, as “Bam Bam” earned five-straight stoppage wins that culminated in a fight with Ciryl Gane for the UFC’s interim heavyweight title earlier this year.
The 29-year-old old was knocked out by Gane and could reasonably have waited until 2023 to take another fight, especially with UFC 284 already scheduled to take place in Tuivasa’s home of Australia.
“Bam Bam” was asked at the UFC Orlando media day if he’d like to appear on that card after fighting Pavlovich, but Tuivasa indicated he’s looking forward to some time off.
“February, that means camp would have to be over Christmas and New Years,” Tuivasa explained. “I wanted to spend Christmas with my son. It popped up (Orlando fight) and I thought it was a great opportunity to get paid and get to enjoy Christmas. I’ll be there, and obviously I’d love to fight in front of the Australian fans, but I’ve been pretty active. I’m keen to finish the year off with a bang, get back in the win column, and then have a bit of a rest.”
“I’ll Be There In The Crowd”
Tuivasa’s fighting style means that a brutal knockout is always a possibility, but “Bam Bam” maintains that even a quick win at UFC Orlando won’t convince him to fight at UFC 284.
“Look, I’m more excited to be pissed at the side of the ring than starving myself over Christmas. Christmas is a time for family, and I’ve been away from home for a long time now. That’s one thing I’m very excited about. So, sorry Australia, but I’ll be there in the crowd, hyping up from the crowd.”
Tuivasa was stopped in the third round of his most recent fight against Gane. (Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)
With the status of current champion Francis Ngannou still unclear and the specter of Jon Jones always looming over the heavyweight division, a win at UFC Orlando could put the #4-ranked Tuivasa right back into the mix for a title shot.
The bout between Tuivasa and Pavlovich will be the only matchup above middleweight at UFC Orlando, which is headlined by a welterweight contest featuring Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson and Kevin Holland.
What do you make of Tuivasa’s explanation for why he isn’t planning on fighting at UFC 284 in Australia?
Please provide transcription credit with a link to this article if you use any of these quotes.
Tai Tuivasa appears to have dismissed any possibility of a quick turnaround to fight at UFC 284 in his home country of Australia.
The 29-year-old heavyweight is set to meet the surging Sergei Pavlovich on the main card of UFC Orlando. Pavlovich dropped his UFC debut against Alistair Overeem in 2018 but has won four-straight fights since then and stopped all four opponents inside the first round.
It wasn’t that long ago that Tuivasa was in a similar position to Pavlovich, as “Bam Bam” earned five-straight stoppage wins that culminated in a fight with Ciryl Gane for the UFC’s interim heavyweight title earlier this year.
The 29-year-old old was knocked out by Gane and could reasonably have waited until 2023 to take another fight, especially with UFC 284 already scheduled to take place in Tuivasa’s home of Australia.
“Bam Bam” was asked at the UFC Orlando media day if he’d like to appear on that card after fighting Pavlovich, but Tuivasa indicated he’s looking forward to some time off.
“February, that means camp would have to be over Christmas and New Years,” Tuivasa explained. “I wanted to spend Christmas with my son. It popped up (Orlando fight) and I thought it was a great opportunity to get paid and get to enjoy Christmas. I’ll be there, and obviously I’d love to fight in front of the Australian fans, but I’ve been pretty active. I’m keen to finish the year off with a bang, get back in the win column, and then have a bit of a rest.”
“I’ll Be There In The Crowd”
Tuivasa’s fighting style means that a brutal knockout is always a possibility, but “Bam Bam” maintains that even a quick win at UFC Orlando won’t convince him to fight at UFC 284.
“Look, I’m more excited to be pissed at the side of the ring than starving myself over Christmas. Christmas is a time for family, and I’ve been away from home for a long time now. That’s one thing I’m very excited about. So, sorry Australia, but I’ll be there in the crowd, hyping up from the crowd.”
With the status of current champion Francis Ngannou still unclear and the specter of Jon Jones always looming over the heavyweight division, a win at UFC Orlando could put the #4-ranked Tuivasa right back into the mix for a title shot.
The bout between Tuivasa and Pavlovich will be the only matchup above middleweight at UFC Orlando, which is headlined by a welterweight contest featuring Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson and Kevin Holland.
What do you make of Tuivasa’s explanation for why he isn’t planning on fighting at UFC 284 in Australia?
Please provide transcription credit with a link to this article if you use any of these quotes.
Click here to view the article.
