Tai
Tuivasa came up short against Tallison Teixeira at UFC 325. |
Getty/UFC
Even after a hiatus that lasted more than a year, Tai
Tuivasa’s slump continued at
UFC 325.
The popular Aussie heavyweight struggled to remain upright,
dropping a unanimous decision to Tallison
Teixeira in a featured bout this past Saturday at Qudos Bank
Arena in Sydney. It was Tuivasa’s sixth consecutive defeat within
the Octagon, a skid that dates back to September 2022.
“Bam Bam” expressed disappointment in the defeat in a statement
released on his Instagram account.
Hurts the Soul
“That hurts the soul more than any punches,” Tuivasa wrote. “I
tried I had a great camp looking forward to getting back in camp
with the boys at Tripl3 MMA so much to work on. Always big love to
my supporters especially the Aussie fans/crowd always cheering me
on. I’m sorry for falling short again. F—king s—t feeling.
“My poor boy has watched me get a hiding a few too many times now,
but just like I always tell him, as long as you give it all you
have and keep trying that’s all that matters. As long as I’m doing
this I will always keep trying. Had a great week together taking
him and showing da fings. Didn’t get the result son, but that is
how life goes sometimes. I hope I take all the loses for mine.”
Tuivasa, who made his
UFC debut in 2017, emerged as a fan favorite thanks to both his
penchant for knockout victories and post-fight “shoeys,” where he
guzzles beer from a variety of foot apparel. The 32-year-old won
his first three Octagon appearances before dropping his next three
outings. However, “Bam Bam” rebounded from that slump to win his
next four, culminating in a second-round knockout of Derrick
Lewis at UFC 271 in February 2022.
That would be the high point of Tuivasa’s UFC tenure, however, as
he has since dropped successive fights to Ciryl Gane,
Sergei
Pavlovich, Alexander
Volkov, Marcin
Tybura, Jairzinho
Rozenstruik and Teixeira. In closing, Tuivasa indicated that he
might focus more on wrestling for future fights.
[Khamzat
Chimaev], I’m coming to wrestle brother,” he wrote. Teach me. I
am sick of this cuddle s—t.”