Brad Tavares has been fighting in the UFC long enough to tie Michael Bisping for the most bouts in the middleweight division’s history with 24 fights under his belt! The 36-year-old began competing professionally back in 2007 before making his way to the big show through ‘The Ultimate Fighter 11’ in 2010.  In an interview with MMAJunkie in 2010, Tavares stated, “I first started fighting on the streets… I figured, ‘I love fighting; I might as well get paid for it, train hard and make something of it.”

With 15 wins under the UFC banner, Tavares has become a mainstay in the middleweight division and holds notable victories over names like Chris Weidman, Nate Marquardt, and Thales Leites. But the fans have also been curious to know more about his early life, his ethnicity and more, so let’s dive in and explore all we know about Brad Tavares’s origins!

What ethnicity is Brad Tavares?

Brad Tavares was born ‘Bradley Kaipo Sarbida Tavares’ in Kailua, Hawaii on December 21, 1987. The Hawaii native doesn’t have Samoan ethnicity but does have Polynesian heritage which he honors with the tattoos adorning his body. He was a stand-out athlete in high school as he competed as a star linebacker for the Waiakea High School football team and also competed in track and field events like the shot put and discus throw.

His high school has also produced other notable alumni like YouTuber Ryan Higa, former MLB player Kean Wong, and Darren Kimura, businessman and inventor behind the micro concentrated solar power technology known as MicroCSP. Brad Tavares began his formal training in MMA in 2007 and confessed that his middleweight frame was something he had to work towards.

In his interview with MMA Junkie, he shared, “I wasn’t like real sloppy fat or anything, but I was huge. I was 240 pounds, and I felt like I needed to lose weight, plus I like fighting. So this was perfect.”

After competing in the Hawaiian regional circuit, he got his big break when it was announced that Tavares would be competing in the eleventh season of TUF (The Ultimate Fighter) Team Liddell vs Team Ortiz.

Tavares’s early life and unknown facts

While many fighters in the UFC start with some combat sports or martial arts background, Brad Tavares didn’t receive any formal training until after his second amateur fight! “At first when I started training, I was just training out of this dude’s garage and doing it all on my own – just making sure I was in shape and just taking whatever knowledge I got from watching and whoever knew something more than me”, he had shared to MMA Junkie.

Tavares’s mother was also against the idea of her son fighting inside a cage and didn’t even watch his first fight because she was worried about him. However, with some other family members stepping in, she became his staunch-supporter. But while he was grinding towards MMA glory, Brad Tavares was still working a full-time day job as a ramp agent for Hawaiian Airlines.

Outside the confines of training and preparing for fights, Tavares is a gamer who also loves spending time at the beach. Now, he is gearing up to take on Jun Yong Park at UFC Vegas 94 on July 20, and a win here could mark another record for the Hawaiian middleweight as he currently has the second most wins in the 185 lbs. division’s history with 15 to his name!