Heavyweight contender Tai Tuivasa is facing the challenge of reducing his weight before his next appearance in the cage.
The experienced fighter is currently in a difficult period, having lost five consecutive bouts and is not scheduled for a fight in 2025. This downtime is likely to continue through the year, as the 32-year-old Australian revealed during an interview on The Ariel Helwani Show that although he hopes to return to fighting soon, he is presently significantly over the weight limit for his division.
Tuivasa stated his intention to “go back into the cage” and “aim for the start of next year.”
Acknowledging his physical condition, he added, “Look at me, I need to get back in the gym. I need to get ready. I’ll be 140 kg [approx. 308 pounds], easy. It’s big, whatever it is, I don’t know, it’s big.”
Tuivasa needs substantial preparation both inside and outside the gym to achieve his objectives. After a successful streak from 2020 to 2022, which included five consecutive knockout wins and brought him close to title contention following a victory over Derrick Lewis, he has since experienced a downturn. His recent losses have been against top contenders Ciryl Gane, Sergei Pavlovich, Alexander Volkov, Marcin Tybura, and Jairzinho Rozenstruik.
This string of defeats is a major factor in Tuivasa`s decision to avoid rushing back into competition after his last fight in August.
He explained, “Definitely, that’s why I needed this break. I feel much better now I’ve had this break. It’s kind of grounded me a little bit in what I want to do. I’ve been going hard in my businesses and stuff like that, so it’s definitely given me some time away from training and from fighting, but we’re fighters, so it’s naturally in me and I’m kind of missing it now.”
Tuivasa emphasized his motivation to return: “I definitely want to get back into it, but I want to come back and I’ve got something to prove. I’m not done yet.”
The loss to Rozenstruik was particularly frustrating, marked by a listless performance over three rounds that ended in a decision defeat (recorded as a split decision due to a highly criticized scorecard).
Tuivasa regrets not only the loss but specifically that the fight went the distance.
He reflected, “I think after the last fight where I was like, ‘F*ck, I should have smashed him,’ I was like, ‘I need a break to get back to why I want to do this.’ Winning is winning and losing is losing, but going out there, it takes a toll on you, it takes a toll on your team, I needed to just get back to ground level. I kind of feel like I’m back there now. The only thing is I’ve got a bit of kilos on.”
