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Tai Tuivasa returns to action at UFC Paris against Ciryl Gane, and if 'Bam Bam' emerges victorious he will find himself at the very top of the heavyweight rankings. Anything is possible then, from a title fight to a bout against G.O.A.T. contender Jon Jones. In Tuivasa's opinion, it's a fight Jones wouldn't turn down.
Jones and Tuivasa had an entertaining back-and-forth on social media months ago where Jones suggested they'd meet in the cage if Tuivasa kept on winning. In a new interview on The MMA Hour, Tuivasa expanded on the likelihood of that fight coming together.
"I've said it many times before and I stand by what I said, I think Jon Jones is the best fighter to ever fight, that's my personal opinion. Just how he fights, you know what I mean? How he fights, he is probably the best fighter to ever set foot in the cage. Is he a d**khead? Yes. I think he's a d**khead. Will I fight him? Yes. Will he fight me? I think he would because he's fought everyone and anyone, he's one of the greatest to ever do it. I'd love to fight him, yeah."
Watch Tai Tuivasa discuss a Jon Jones fight below:
During the interview, The MMA Hour host Ariel Helwani revealed that the UFC was looking to match Jon Jones up against Francis Ngannou for UFC 282 on December 10. With Ngannou still recovering from major knee surgery, that's unlikely.
The next main candidate is Stipe Miocic, but Helwani pointed out that negotiations between Miocic and the UFC could derail that match-up as well. That leaves the winner of the Tai Tuivasa vs. Ciryl Gane bout on September 3 in a good position to potentially fight Jones later this year.
Tai Tuivasa's Dubai training camp keeps him "away from the party scene"
Tai Tuivasa is infamous for doing shoeys after every win, so it should be no surprise that he's quite the party animal when the opportunity arises. That's why his head coach Shaun Sullivan is very happy that 'Bam Bam' has moved his training camps to Dubai, where there's less distractions for Tuivasa to deal with.
In a new video on UFC.com, Sullivan said:
"I believe in Dubai he can really focus on ensuring he's getting his two training sessions in a day, make sure he's eating the right food. Dubai has that good balance, once a week he can still let his hair down, go out to a nice restaurant with friends or go down to the beach and relax. But it's also a bit of a strict place where it does hold you accountable and makes sure you do the right things and stay away from the party scene that he loves so much back home."
Tai Tuivasa came to Dubai to avoid strict COVID-19 lockdown laws in Australia that permitted combat sports athletes from being able to train. Since then, the charismatic slugger has gone 5-0 and now sits in the No. 3 spot on the UFC heavyweight rankings.
