Tai Tuivasa

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). As of 4 February 2025, he is #10 in the UFC heavyweight rankings.
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.
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.
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: Werdum vs. Tybura. 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.
Tuivasa faced Greg Hardy on 10 July 2021 at UFC 264. He won the fight via knockout in round one. This win earned him the Performance of the Night award.
Tuivasa was scheduled to face Walt Harris on 30 October 2021 at UFC 267; however, Harris pulled out of the bout. Tuivasa was then scheduled to face Augusto Sakai on 20 November 2021 at UFC Fight Night 198, but due to visa issues for Tuivasa, the bout was scrapped. The bout was rescheduled and eventually took place on 11 December 2021 at UFC 269. Tuivasa won the fight via knockout in the second round. The win also earned Tuivasa his third Performance of the Night bonus award.
Tuivasa faced Derrick Lewis on 12 February 2022 at UFC 271. Tuivasa won the fight via knockout in round two. The win earned him a Performance of the Night bonus award.
Tuivasa faced Ciryl Gane on 3 September 2022 at UFC Fight Night 209. Despite a knockdown for Tuivasa in the second round, he lost the fight via knockout in round three. This fight earned him the Fight of the Night award.
Tuivasa faced Sergei Pavlovich on 3 December 2022, at UFC on ESPN 42. He lost the fight via knockout in the first round.
Tuivasa faced Alexander Volkov on 10 September 2023, at UFC 293. He lost the fight via ezekiel choke in the second round.
Tuivasa was scheduled to face Marcin Tybura on 17 February 2024, at UFC 298. On 12 January 2024, it was announced that the fight was rescheduled to headline UFC Fight Night 239 on 16 March 2024. He lost the bout in the first round due to a rear-naked choke submission.
Tuivasa faced Jairzinho Rozenstruik on 18 August 2024 at UFC 305. He lost the fight by split decision. Judge Howie Booth, who scored the fight 30-27 for Tuivasa, was relieved of his duties midway through the event, and received widespread criticism from pundits, fighters and fans for his scorecard; 15 out of 15 media outlets scored the bout 30-27 for Rozenstruik.
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.