What’s Next For Tai Tuivasa?

UFC Vegas 88 returned to UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada, this past weekend (Sat., March 16, 2024), leaving plenty of fighters feeling the post-fight blues. Among them was Bryan Barberena, who suffered his fourth straight defeat thanks to the deathly squeeze of Gerald Meerschaert (see it again here).

And Pannie Kianzad, who was also submitted with a rear-naked choke by Macy Chiasson. But which fighter is suffering from the worst post-fight hangover, now a few days removed from the show?

Tai Tuivasa.

Coming into the event, “Bam Bam” was in desperate need of a win after losing his previous three fights, getting finished by Ciryl Gane, Sergei Pavlovich and Alexander Volkov in consecutive fashion. But, instead of turning things around for himself, “Bam Bam” found himself in a deeper hole.

Things started off well for the big man, clipping Marcin Tybura early and busting him wide open. “Tybur” was visibly bothered that he was leaking blood, and Tuivasa was looking as confident as ever going in for the kill.

It never came.

Tybura managed to gather himself and eventually land a takedown. Once there, the big man took Tuivasa’s back and started wailing on the Australian. And once he saw an opening, “Tybur” sunk in a rear-naked choke. Tuivasa tried his best to fight it off and hang on, but it was ultimately too much, leading to his fourth straight defeat.

It’s a tough losing stretch for Tuivasa, the longest of his combat career. He did lose three in a row previously inside the Octagon and manage to turn things around for himself by racking up five consecutive victories, but it feels like the road back to the winner’s circle will be harder this time around.

Tuivasa has always been a fan-favorite, so I highly doubt the promotion will consider cutting him. He will definitely drop out of the Top 10, but will likely still be ranked come later this week and will likely get one more shot.

As for what’s next for “Bam Bam.” perhaps a fight against Andrei Arlovski could be in order. Sure, Arlovski isn’t ranked in the Top 15, but let’s be real, Tuivasa isn’t in any position to be turning down any fights at this point of his career. Arlovski has also seen better days inside the Octagon, losing three in a row with his latest defeat coming at the hands of Waldo Cortes-Acosta via unanimous decision earlier this year.

It may seem like an odd matchup, but there aren’t really too many juicy options available for either man. Indeed, both Heavyweight veterans are down bad, and the loser of this fight could very well have competed in his last-ever fight inside the Octagon.

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For complete UFC Vegas 88 results, coverage and highlights, click HERE.