“I did a lot of time in the back of the plane, now it’s time to sit up in the front.”
Heavyweight contender Tai Tuivasa will headline his second UFC event this weekend as the company makes its debut in Paris, France. But apparently, “Bam Bam” had to pay for his own flight to be able to have a comfortable trip at first class, instead of squeezing his 275 lb frame in couch.
The 29-year-old Sydney native appeared on Monday’s episode of the MMA Hour, where he told Ariel Helwani that he’d been paying for the airfare for many of his flights for a while now.
“I pay for my own tickets,” he said (H/T MMA Mania). “I just get my own flights all the time. Most of my flights, I always pay for my own because I like to fly … I did a lot of time in the back of the plane, now it’s time to sit up in the front.”
Ideally, the organization should be shouldering such costs, and Tuivasa agrees.
“I would agree (someone else should be paying for it) but that’s another argument for another time I suppose.”
Tuivasa, who is currently on a five-fight win streak that culminated in a second-round KO win over Derrick Lewis in February, will now face ex-interim champion, Ciryl Gane. Co-headlining the event is a middleweight bout between former titleholder Robert Whittaker and Marvin Vettori.