Tai Anthony Tuivasa (born 16 March 1993) is an Australian professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).
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Early life
Tuivasa was born in Sydney to an Indigenous Australian (Wiradjuri) mother and a Samoan father. He grew up in the western Sydney suburb of Mount Druitt with 11 siblings, and predominantly played rugby league in his youth. He was signed by the professional Sydney Roosters rugby league club in 2010, but gave up playing the sport when he developed a gambling addiction.
Mixed martial arts career
Early career
Tuivasa made his professional MMA debut in August 2012 in his native Australia. He fought sporadically over the next four years, with all of his wins ending in knockouts.
Tuivasa also fought a couple of MMA mixed rules bouts with Combat 8 promotions. Tuivasa fought Australian former rugby league representative John Hopoate on 1 December 2012 in the Newcastle Panthers FC arena at Combat 8:02, the second Combat 8 event, winning the fight by TKO. Tuivasa later fought kickboxer Peter Graham at Combat 8:03, in a back-and-forth brawl that seemed as if Tuivasa would finish his opponent early on. Yet as the fight went on, Graham rallied and Tuivasa tired, leading to an eventual loss for Tuivasa via TKO in the second round due to punches.
Ultimate Fighting Championship
In November 2016, it was announced that Tuivasa had signed a four-fight contract with the Ultimate Fighting Championship. According to Tuivasa, he had to sit out for an extended period due to a knee injury and subsequent surgery.
Tuivasa made his UFC debut against Rashad Coulter on 19 November 2017 at UFC Fight Night 121. Tuivasa won the fight by knockout after a flying knee in the first round, and became the first Indigenous Australian to win a UFC fight. This win also earned him the Performance of the Night bonus.
Tuivasa faced Cyril Asker on 11 February 2018 at UFC 221. He won the fight via technical knock out in the first round. On 13 February 2018 Tuivasa entered the UFC's official rankings for heavyweight fighters, coming in at position 15.
In March 2018, Tuivasa signed a new, four-fight contract with UFC. Tuivasa faced Andrei Arlovski on 9 June 2018 at UFC 225. He won the fight by unanimous decision.
Tuivasa faced former UFC Heavyweight Champion Junior dos Santos on 2 December 2018 at UFC Fight Night 142. He lost the fight via technical knockout in round two.
Tuivasa faced Blagoy Ivanov on 8 June 2019 at UFC 238. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.
Tuivasa faced Serghei Spivac on 6 October 2019 at UFC 243. He lost the fight via arm-triangle choke in the second round.
Tuivasa was scheduled to face Jarjis Danho on 6 June 2020 at UFC 251. However, on 9 April, Dana White, the president of UFC, announced that this event was postponed to a future date.
Tuivasa faced Stefan Struve on 24 October 2020 at UFC 254. He won the fight via knockout in the first round.
Tuivasa was scheduled to face Don'Tale Mayes on 20 March 2021 at UFC on ESPN 21. However, Mayes was removed from the fight during the week leading up to the event for undisclosed reasons and was replaced by promotional newcomer Harry Hunsucker. Tuivasa won the fight via technical knockout in round one.
Personal life
Tuivasa has one son, with Brierley Pedro who is the sister of former UFC light heavyweight fighter Tyson Pedro.
Tuivasa currently hosts "The Halfcast Podcast", with Tyson Pedro and Andrew Fifita as co-hosts.
Since 2018, Tuivasa has celebrated his victories by doing a shoey, drinking beer from a borrowed shoe. Sydney newspaper The Daily Telegraph coined the moniker "Shoeyvasa". At UFC 254, he won again but was not allowed to do the shoey in the cage, but has since continued the tradition.
Tuivasa is co-owner of Drink West Brewery with Tyson Pedro and Nathan Cleary.
Tuivasa won the 2024 edition of The Amazing Race Australia (celebrity edition) with his brother Logan.
Championships and accomplishments
Ultimate Fighting Championship
Performance of the Night (Four times) vs. Rashad Coulter, Greg Hardy, Augusto Sakai and Derrick Lewis
Fight of the Night (One time) vs. Ciryl Gane
Tied for fourth most consecutive knockouts in UFC history (5)
Longest losing streak in UFC Heavyweight division history (8)
Tied (Tony Ferguson) for the longest losing streak in UFC history (8)
UFC.com Awards
2022: Ranked #7 Fight of the Year vs. Ciryl Gane & Ranked #8 Upset of the Year vs. Derrick Lewis
Australian Fighting Championship
AFC Heavyweight Champion (One time)
National Dreamtime Awards
2018 International Sportsperson of the Year
MMAjunkie.com
2021 July Knockout of the Month vs. Greg Hardy
MMA Fighting
2022 Third Team MMA All-Star
Kickboxing career
GFC
In 2014 Tai competed in the GFC Heavyweight Tournament, Semi Finals against Ismael Lazaar and lost by technical knockout in round 2.
Record
Tai obtained a kickboxing record of 12 wins and two losses.
