UFC 254: Leaner, meaner Tai Tuivasa serves notice to heavyweight division with Stefan Struve uppercut KO
- Australian fan favourite lays giant Dutchman Struve out to arrest three-loss streak
- ‘Coming off a few losses you either think or you stink,’ says Tuivasa of his year out of the cage
When Australian heavyweight Tai “Bam Bam” Tuivasa burst on the UFC scene he came like a human wrecking ball, throwing huge haymakers and knees and kicks that led to a 3-0 opening run, a top-10 ranking and plenty of fanfare.
Then reality struck. Three losses – in fights that included a match-up with an ex-world champion in Brazilian Junior Dos Santos (21-8) – laid bare the 27-year-old’s limitations, and those of an explosive street fighting style that was welcomed by fighters who had more experience in working out how to win inside the cage over time.
And so Tuivasa went back to school – or specifically to the American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) in San Jose where he could learn from such masters of MMA as former UFC heavyweight and light heavyweight champ Daniel Cormier.
The results were there to see on Sunday as Tuivasa (11-3) stalked the seven-foot giant that is Dutchman Stefan Struve (33-13) and then he laid the big man out, with the knockout coming at 4:59 of the first.
“It was awesome to get that feeling back,” Tuivasa said afterwards. “Like I said before, it’s addictive, it’s something you can’t get it anywhere else. It’s been awhile for me, so it’s good to be back, very good to be back. I felt pressure, but I trusted my team.
“I put in the work. I put my head down and my ass up this year, so I just credit that to my team. That was the plan, take it easy man and stop trying to get in there and get that money real quick. If I take my time, it comes, it comes.”