Tai Tuivasa

Tai Tuivasa
Tai Tuivasa
Born	Tai Anthony Tuivasa; March 16, 1993 (age 33); Sydney, Australia
Occupation	Mixed martial artist
Years active	2012–present
Known for	Competing in the Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)

Tai Anthony Tuivasa (born 16 March 1993) is an Australian professional mixed martial artist who competes in the Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of 24 June 2025, he holds the #10 position in the UFC heavyweight rankings.

Early life

Born in Sydney, Tuivasa is the son of an Indigenous Australian (Wiradjuri) mother and a Samoan father. He was raised in the western Sydney area of Mount Druitt alongside 11 siblings. During his youth, he primarily engaged in rugby league. In 2010, he was signed by the professional Sydney Roosters rugby league team but eventually left the sport due to struggles with a gambling addiction.

Early career

Tuivasa began his professional MMA journey in Australia in August 2012. Over the course of four years, he secured victories exclusively by knockout. He also participated in mixed rules MMA bouts under Combat 8 promotions, including a TKO win against former rugby league player John Hopoate at Combat 8:02. However, he experienced a TKO defeat to kickboxer Peter Graham at Combat 8:03 after fatigue set in during the second round.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

In November 2016, Tuivasa inked a four-fight deal with the Ultimate Fighting Championship. After undergoing knee surgery and rehabilitation, he made his UFC debut on 19 November 2017 at UFC Fight Night: Werdum vs. Tybura, where he knocked out Rashad Coulter in the first round with a flying knee. This victory marked him as the first Indigenous Australian to win a UFC bout and earned him a Performance of the Night bonus.

In February 2018 at UFC 221, Tuivasa achieved a first-round technical knockout over Cyril Asker, which propelled him to number 15 in the UFC heavyweight rankings soon after. He committed to a new four-fight contract in March 2018. At UFC 225, he secured a unanimous decision win against former champion Andrei Arlovski.

Tuivasa suffered a second-round technical knockout loss to former UFC Heavyweight Champion Junior dos Santos in December 2018. Following this, he faced Blagoy Ivanov at UFC 238 in June 2019 and lost by unanimous decision, then was submitted by Serghei Spivac at UFC 243 in October.

A bout with Jarjis Danho scheduled for UFC 251 was postponed due to event delays. Returning at UFC 254 in October 2020, Tuivasa secured a first-round knockout over Stefan Struve. In March 2021, after his opponent changed to Harry Hunsucker, he recorded another first-round technical knockout victory.

At UFC 264 in July 2021, Tuivasa knocked out Greg Hardy, earning his second Performance of the Night award. A planned fight against Walt Harris was canceled; instead, visa complications led to two scheduled bouts with Augusto Sakai, culminating in a second-round knockout victory for Tuivasa at UFC 269, which granted him his third Performance of the Night bonus.

In February 2022 at UFC 271, Tuivasa knocked out Derrick Lewis, adding yet another Performance of the Night accolade to his record. He then faced former interim champion Ciryl Gane at UFC Fight Night 209 in September 2022, losing by knockout in the third round but earning Fight of the Night honors for their contest.

Tuivasa was defeated by first-round knockout via Sergei Pavlovich at UFC on ESPN 42 in December 2022. At UFC 293 held in September 2023, he suffered submission via ezekiel choke from Alexander Volkov.

Initially slated to meet Marcin Tybura at UFC 298 in February 2024, their fight was rescheduled to headline UFC Fight Night 239 in March. Tuivasa lost by first-round rear-naked choke submission.

In August 2024 at UFC 305, Tuivasa competed against Jairzinho Rozenstruik, losing by split decision amid controversy surrounding judge Howie Booth’s scoring. The judge’s decision faced significant criticism and resulted in his removal during the event. All media outlets scored the fight favoring Rozenstruik.

Championships and accomplishments

Ultimate Fighting Championship
- Earned Performance of the Night honors on four occasions
- Received the Fight of the Night award once
- Shares the position for fourth place in UFC history for most consecutive knockouts with five
- UFC.com Awards
  - 2022: Ranked #7 for Fight of the Year and #8 for Upset of the Year
Australian Fighting Championship
- Held the title of AFC Heavyweight Champion once
National Dreamtime Awards 2018
- Awarded International Sportsperson of the Year
MMAjunkie.com
- Recognized with the July 2021 Knockout of the Month

Personal life

Tuivasa is a father to one son with Brierley Pedro, who is the sister of former UFC light heavyweight competitor Tyson Pedro.

He co-hosts The Halfcast Podcast alongside Tyson Pedro and Andrew Fifita.

Beginning in 2018, Tuivasa has marked his victories by performing a shoey—consuming beer from someone else's shoe—a ritual that led Sydney's The Daily Telegraph to nickname him "Shoeyvasa". Although he was prohibited from doing the shoey inside the cage at UFC 254, he has maintained this celebratory practice since then.

In entrepreneurial pursuits, Tuivasa is a co-owner of Drink West Brewery together with Tyson Pedro and Nathan Cleary. This brewery was named the official beer partner for UFC events in Australia in 2022.

Broadening his public exposure, Tuivasa, alongside his brother Logan, secured victory in the 2024 celebrity edition of The Amazing Race Australia.

Mixed martial arts record

|Win 
|align=center |14–3 
|Derrick Lewis 
|KO via elbow strike 
|UFC 271 
| 
|align=center |2 
|align=center |1:40 
|Houston, Texas, United States 
|

|-

|Win 
|align=center |13–3 
|Augusto Sakai 
|KO through punches 
|UFC 269 
| 
|align=center |2 
|align=center |0:26 
|Las Vegas, Nevada, United States 
|

|-

|Win 
|align=center |12–3 
|Greg Hardy 
|KO delivered by punches 
|UFC 264 
| 
|align=center |1 
|align=center |1:07 
|Las Vegas, Nevada, United States 
|

|-

|Win 
|align=center |11–3 
|Harry Hunsucker 
|TKO due to punches 
|UFC on ESPN: Brunson vs. Holland 
| 
|align=center |1 
|align=center |0:49 
|Las Vegas, Nevada, United States 
|

|-

|Win 
|align=center |10–3 
|Stefan Struve 
|KO from punches  
|UFC 254  
|
|align=center 1  
|align=center 4:59  
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates  
|

|-

 Loss  
 align=center 9–3  
 Serghei Spivac   
 Technical submission with arm-triangle choke  
 UFC 243   
  
 align=center 2  
 align=center 3:14  
Melbourne, Australia  
|

|-

Loss  
align=center 9–2  
Blagoy Ivanov  
Unanimous decision defeat  
UFC 238   
  
align=center 3  
align=center 5:00  
Chicago, Illinois, United States  
|

|-

Loss  
align=center 9–1  
Junior dos Santos  
TKO caused by punches  
UFC Fight Night: dos Santos vs. Tuivasa   
  
align=center 2  
align=center 2:30  
Adelaide, Australia  
|

|-

Win  
align=center 9–0  
Andrei Arlovski  
Victory by unanimous decision  
UFC 225   
  
align=center 3  
align=center 5:00  
Chicago, Illinois, United States  
|

|-

Win  
align=center 8–0  
Cyril Asker  
TKO from punches and elbows  
UFC 221   
  
align=center 1  
align=center 2:18  
Perth, Australia   
|

|-

Win   
align=center 7–0   
Rashad Coulter   
KO with flying knee   
UFC Fight Night: Werdum vs. Tybura   
   
align=center 1   
align=center 4:35   
Sydney, Australia   
|

|-

Win   
align=center 6–0   
James McSweeney   
TKO due to corner stoppage   
\u00A0AFC\u00A017   
   
align=center\u00A01   
align=center\u00A05:00   
Melbourne, Australia   
|

|-

Win    
align=center\u00A05\u20130    
Brandon Sosoli    
KO via elbow strike    
\u00A0AFC\u00A016    
    
align=center\u00A01    
align=center\u00A00:21    
Melbourne, Australia    
|

|-

Win    
align=center\u00A04\u20130    
Gul Pohatu    
TKO through punches    
Urban Fight Night\u00A05    
    
align=center\u00A01    
align=center\u00A00:44    
\u00A0Liverpool, Australia    
|

|-

Win    
align=center\u00A03\u20130    
Erik Nosa    
TKO from punches    
Gladiators Cage Fighting:\u00A0Gladiators\u00A03    
    
align=center\u00A01    
align=center\u00A00:28    
Sydney, Australia    
|

|-

Win    
align=center\u00A02\u20130    
Aaron Nieborak    
TKO caused by punches    
Gladiators Cage Fighting:\u00A0Gladiators\u00A02    
    
align=center\u00A01     
N/A     
Sydney, Australia     
|

|-

Win     
align=center\u00A01\u20130     
Simon Osborne     
TKO due to punches     
Elite Cage Championships\u00A02     
     
align = center \u00201     
N/A     
Sydney, Australia     
|

-

Professional boxing record

No.	Outcome	Record	Opponent	Method	Round, time	Date	Venue	Remarks
7	Defeat	5–2	Demsey McKean	UD	3	15 April 2016	The Melbourne Pavilion, Flemington, Victoria, Australia	Final of the Frank Bianco Cup Eight Man Heavyweight tournament
6	Victory	5–1	David Tuitupou	UD	3			Semi Final of the Frank Bianco Cup Eight Man Heavyweight tournament
5	Victory	4–1	Hamad Alloush	TKO	2, (3) 1:33			Quarter Final of the Frank Bianco Cup Eight Man Heavyweight tournament
4	Defeat	3–1	Michael Kirby	UD	3	3 April 2014		Final of the Eight Man Heavyweight tournament
3	Victory	3–0	Willie Nasio	TKO	1, (3) 2:00			Semi Final of the Eight Man Heavyweight tournament
2	Victory	2–0	Brett Smith	DQ	1, (3) 3:00			Quarter Final of the Eight Man Heavyweight tournament
1	Victory	1–0	Nathan McKay	KO	3, (4) 2:57	13 December 2013	Olympic Park Sports Centre, Homebush, New South Wales, Australia	Professional debut

GFC

In 2014, Tai took part in the Global Fighting Championship Heavyweight Tournament Semi Finals, where he was defeated by Ismael Lazaar via technical knockout in the second round.

Record

Tai's kickboxing tally includes 12 victories and 2 defeats.

MMA mixed rules record

|-

|Loss 
|align=center |1–1 
|Peter Graham 
|TKO (punches) 
|Combat 8:03 
| 
|align=center |2 
|align=center |2:55 
|Big Top, Sydney, Australia 
|

|-

|Win 
|align=center |1–0 
|John Hopoate 
|TKO (punches) 
|Combat 8:02 
| 
|align=center |1 
|align=center |1:40 
|Wests City, Newcastle, Australia 
|

|-

External links