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Tai Tuivasa has emerged as one of the most popular fan-favorite fighters on the UFC roster in recent years. There are two things that are synonymous with the affable Australian – shoeys and vicious knockouts.
Tuivasa joined the UFC in 2017. He was signed after back-to-back KO victories in championship bouts on the Australian regional MMA scene and made his promotional debut at UFC Fight Night 121. He secured a sensational finish on the night, setting the tone for his subsequent octagon outings.
Tuivasa holds a professional record of 13-3. Out of 13 wins, 12 have come by way of KO/TKO. We thought we'd take a look at his best performances in the UFC so far.
Here are the five most vicious Tai Tuivasa KOs in the UFC.
#5. Tai Tuivasa vs. Greg Hardy - UFC 264
Tai Tuivasa squared off against Greg Hardy on the main card of UFC 264: Poirier vs. McGregor 3, one of the biggest UFC events of 2021. Both fighters are known for their one-punch knockout power and most were of the opinion that this fight wouldn't see a second round.
The masses were right as the bout ended less than 70 seconds after it began. Both heavyweights traded bombs towards the end of the first minute of the fight. Hardy landed a clean shot that noticeably stunned Tuivasa. As the former NFL player closed in for the kill shot, he got caught with a thunderous left hook.
Hardy collapsed and Tuivasa finished him off with a couple of vicious ground strikes.
Moments after the finish, Tuivasa climbed the cage wall and proceeded to deliver his now-iconic shoey celebration. This was the first time he had done the celebration seconds after knocking out his opponent and it produced one of the most memorable moments of the night.
He earned a 'Performance of the Night' bonus for his efforts.
#4. Tai Tuivasa vs. Stefan Struve - UFC 254
At UFC 254, Tai Tuivasa took on MMA veteran Stefan Struve in the featured bout of the preliminary card.
Tuivasa, at 6"2', struggled in the early exchanges against Struve, who is 7-feet tall. Nevertheless, he continued to walk him down throughout the opening round. In the last 10 seconds of the frame, the Australian backed his Dutch counterpart into the fence and proceeded to throw a combination of heavy hooks.
As Struve covered up in anticipation of more hooks from Tuivasa, 'Bam Bam' threw a powerful uppercut that saw the towering Dutchman collapse to the mat. The referee called a halt to the bout with just one second remaining on the clock.
Tai Tuivasa was coming off consecutive losses to Junior dos Santos, Blagoy Ivanov and Sergey Spivac going into this bout at UFC 254. The KO victory over Stefan Struve saw 'Bam Bam' break a three-fight losing skid.
Delighted with the result, Tuivasa downed a shoey backstage.
#3. Tai Tuivasa vs. Cyril Asker - UFC 221
Going into UFC 221, Tai Tuivasa held a perfect professional record of 7-0. All of his wins had come by way of first-round KO/TKO and the Australian's stock was slowly but surely beginning to rise. He took on French heavyweight Cyril Asker in his eighth professional fight.
Tuivasa employed his usual strategy of walking his opponent down while stringing together combinations. It worked a treat as he picked apart Asker, who struggled to keep up with the Aussie's output. Two minutes into the first round, 'Bam Bam' landed a clean step-in elbow that rocked his opponent.
Noticing that Asker was dazed, Tuivasa unleashed a vicious series of punches to the body and head. He then landed another monstrous elbow strike, which turned out to be the last blow of the fight.
#2. Tai Tuivasa vs. Augusto Sakai - UFC 269
Tai Tuivasa truly came into his own in 2021 and emerged as a legitimate contender in the heavyweight division. Following his aforementioned KO victory over Greg Hardy, Tuivasa broke into the rankings. At UFC 269, the final pay-per-view of 2021, the fan-favorite Aussie took on Brazil's Augusto Sakai.
Sakai is a tough night out for most heavyweights, considering his size and exceptional boxing. Additionally, he was significantly more experienced than Tuivasa and this was evident in the first round. Both fighters clinched up numerous times in the opening five minutes, which prevented 'Bam Bam' from walking his opponent down as he usually does.
However, 20 seconds into the second stanza, Tuivasa found his range. He peppered Sakai with numerous heavy shots while backing him against the cage. With his opponent seemingly cornered, the Australian uncorked a right hook that knocked out his Brazilian counterpart.
The KO win over Augusto Sakai saw Tai Tuivasa claim the Brazilian's spot in the rankings. He advanced his professional record to 13-3 with the result. Moreover, with yet another high-profile win and customary post-fight celebration, Tuivasa's star power hit a whole new level.
#1. Tai Tuivasa vs. Rashad Coulter - UFC Fight Night 121
Tai Tuivasa's best performance in the UFC octagon came in his promotional debut. He became the heavyweight champion of Australia's premier MMA organization, AFC, in just his fifth professional fight and subsequently defended his title in his sixth pro bout before signing with the UFC.
In his UFC debut, he took on Rashad Coulter at UFC Fight Night 121. The event went down at the Quodos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia, which is Tuivasa's home city. 'Bam Bam' looked jittery in the first few minutes, but his nerves seemingly settled as the fight progressed.
He patiently walked Coulter down and landed a couple of heavy calf-kicks. Four-and-a-half minutes into the first round, he landed another powerful calf-kick that dropped his opponent.
As his American counterpart got back to his feet, the Aussie heavyweight took flight and landed a perfectly placed flying knee to knock him out.
Tai Tuivasa's first fight in the UFC produced one of the best knockouts of his career so far. Flying knee KOs are already a rare entity in MMA and seeing a 265-pound heavyweight pull it off is truly a sight to behold.
His win over Rashad Coulter sent the Australian crowd in attendance into a frenzy. After the bout, UFC fans got their first look at the now-infamous shoey.
