Brad Tavares has spent a significant amount of time in the octagon, but he’s not slowing down anytime soon.
Tavares (18-6 MMA, 13-6 UFC) will make his 20th walk to the octagon Saturday when he takes on Omari Akhmedov (21-5-1 MMA, 9-4-1 UFC) at UFC 264, which takes places at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
“The Ultimate Fighter” Season 11 alum has fought the who’s who at 185 pounds, ranging from UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya to former champion Robert Whittaker and multiple-time title challenger Yoel Romero. But Tavares still has big aspirations of reaching the pinnacle, where he’ll look to string another winning streak with a win over Akhmedov.
“I was having this conversation with Francis on Saturday, he was asking me how long I’ve been in the UFC, I was like ‘bro, I’ve been in the UFC since 2010,’ and he didn’t even start fighting at that point,” Tavares told MMA Junkie. “It’s definitely cool. It just goes to show you that I spent a third of my life in the UFC. I basically grew up in the UFC.
“I think I had only four or five fights coming into the UFC and then I had four fights I think in ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ and then all of the fights have been in the UFC so it’s pretty crazy. I’m appreciative of the career I had, and I still wake up passionate about it. I’m still pushing towards that goal of having a belt, and I don’t think I’m far off.”
The 33-year-old Hawaiian returned from an over year-long layoff due to injury in January, snapping his two-fight losing skid with a win over Antonio Carlos Junior at UFC 257. With another daughter in the way in October, Tavares definitely plans on fighting at least one more time before the end of the year.
“Being that I’ve been through it before (having a daughter), I kind of know what to expect as far as sleeping, not sleeping, the demands of being a parent,” Tavares said. “So granted injuries or whatever, I’ll think I’ll able to get another fight in this year for sure and then maybe just enjoy the holidays with my newborn.”
Entering his 20th UFC fight, Brad Tavares ‘still pushing towards that goal of having a belt’
