Tai Tuivasa hit all-time low on Saturday evening at UFC Perth, and he’s ensuring everybody is aware of he received’t keep there. The Australian heavyweight suffered his seventh consecutive defeat in opposition to Louie Sutherland in a unanimous resolution loss, a outcome that despatched him again to the drafting board in a post-fight assertion that was equal elements rage and resolve.
Sutherland, stepping in on quick discover, managed many of the battle via takedowns and floor control. Tuivasa spent important parts of the 15-minute bout on his again, unable to generate the offense wanted to impress the judges. Issues acquired worse when he was deducted a degree late within the battle for a knee to the pinnacle whereas grounded, leaving the scorecards studying 30-26 throughout the board.
Tai Tuivasa Refuses to Fold After Seventh Straight Loss at UFC Perth
On Instagram following the loss, Tuivasa posted a press release that minimize via typical fighter converse: “SORRY, I attempted, I felt good, I put within the work didn’t get outcome.” He didn’t make excuses in regards to the short-notice opponent, his coaching camp, or anything. As an alternative, he owned it utterly. “I really feel like a shit c**t let my followers down once more,” he wrote, then pivoted straight into defiance. “BUT I WILL NEVER GIVE UP. I’M FROM WESTERN SYDNEY. YOU GOTTA PUT ME OUT FOR ME TO GIVE UP.”
Tuivasa grew up in Mt Druitt, one of many rougher neighborhoods in Sydney’s west, raised by an Indigenous Australian mom and Samoan father amongst 11 siblings. Earlier than MMA, he was signed by the NRL’s Sydney Roosters however walked away from skilled rugby league when he fell right into a playing dependancy. The cage turned his second probability, and the folks from Western Sydney turned his id.
His final win got here on February 12, 2022, when he knocked out Derrick Lewis with an elbow within the second spherical at UFC 271. That’s over 4 years in the past. Since then, nothing however losses. The shedding streak runs so deep that he’s now only one defeat away from tying Tony Ferguson’s file of eight consecutive losses, the longest in UFC historical past. Ferguson’s streak spanned from 2020 to 2024.
What’s unusual about Tuivasa’s spot proper now could be that he’s truly nonetheless within the UFC. Most fighters with seven straight losses get minimize or pushed out. His title, his knockout energy, and moments of real leisure stored him round regardless of the brutal shedding streak. However that goodwill has limits.
The query hanging over his profession is whether or not the UFC provides him one other shot or if Perth marks the top. Tuivasa says he’ll by no means hand over voluntarily. Whether or not the promotion lets him maintain preventing to show it stays to be seen.
