After earning a victory on fight island Australian UFC heavyweight Tai Tuivasa plans to return to the American Kickboxing Academy where he had been training before the COVID pandemic forced him to return home.
Speaking the ESPN’s Jimmy Smith Tuivasa shared the benefits he had found from training at such a prestigious gym.
“I knew I needed to do that to get to the next level and yeah, since going there I’ve kind of really just seen where I need to be at and where I need to go and I’ll be heading back there soon,” Tuivasa said.
Tuivasa shared that while training at AKA he has been able to focus on practicing in the areas on his MMA skillset that can use work.
“I kind of know what I’m good at and I think the world kind of figured out what I’m kinda good at so I need to just get better at other things that they’re good at I reckon. Once I get good at that I think I’m going to be a big trouble for the division,” Tuivasa said.
“Just being with those guys and seeing what level they’re at and how they push and they’re older guys you know, it makes you realize where you’ve got to be and where I’ve got to go.”
The American Kickboxing Academy is home to former heavyweight champions such as Daniel Cormier and Cain Velasquez, as well as a plethora of high-level fighters from different divisions and organizations.
Back in October at UFC 254, Tuivasa was able to secure a knockout victory over Stefan Struve in the first round of the cards featured prelim. This victory saw the fighter end his three-fight losing streak that had been the only three losses of his career. Currently, Tuivasa’s record stands at 10-3 with 4-3 coming in the UFC.