UFC heavyweight contender Tai Tuivasa got a bit of a wake-up call when he threw down with light heavyweight kingpin Alex Pereira.
Tuivasa is among the home fighters looking to make a splash in front of their fellow Australians this weekend in Perth, where the RAC Arena will play host to the UFC 305 pay-per-view.
Having had his losing skid extended to four by Marcin Tybura this past March, “Bam Bam” is in desperate need of a bounce-back performance Down Under. To get it, the hard-hitting fan favorite will need to land first when he and Jairzinho Rozenstruik inevitably go hell for leather on fight night.
“Bam Bam” completed his fight camp over in Dubai. But before getting it started in mid-June, he got a taste of sparring Pereira, the reigning 205-pound kingpin, during the Brazilian’s Australia tour.
Suffice to say, that marked about as rude a welcome back to training as imaginable…
Tuivasa After Sparring Pereira: ‘F*ck, I Better Go Train’
During his appearance at UFC 305 media day, Tuivasa was asked about his experience sparring with Pereira a couple of months back, specifically the power that came his way from “Poatan.”
The Aussie admitted that he served as a punching bag, highlighting that the training session came just prior to his UFC 305 fight camp when he wasn’t in the best shape.
“Yeah, it was kind of my first training session back and I got the sh*t punched out of me,” Tuivasa said. “I think I left a few days after that to Dubai and was like, ‘F*ck, yeah, I better go train.’”
In terms of Pereira’s power, though, Tuivasa appeared to dismiss the suggestion that the former two-weight Glory Kickboxing champ packs the kind of dynamite in his fists that he’s not used to experiencing in the heavyweight division.
“His power was, you know — I fight at heavyweight, so we can take a punch or two,” Tuivasa continued. “It was more I hadn’t been training, went in, and I was f*cking running out of breath and getting the sh*t punched out of me. But that’s the sport we do, and it was all fun and games.”
And when it comes to avoiding power shots, practice against Pereira could come in handy given who Tuivasa is slated to share the Octagon with this weekend.
While known for his KO abilities himself, “Bam Bam’s” opponent Rozenstruik is similarly ferocious in the standup realm, recording 13 of his 14 wins by knockout and notably sleeping Allen Crowder with a single jab after just nine seconds in 2019.
It's always a party when it comes to @BamBamTuivasa
Tai Tuivasa looks to deliver another signature performance at #UFC305! pic.twitter.com/CTGJ9gNtZl
— UFC (@ufc) August 15, 2024
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