Fighting comes naturally to UFC heavyweight Tai Tuivasa. ‘Bam Bam’ grew up in a rough neighborhood in Sydney, Australia, often getting into fights growing up. It was in these street fights that ‘Bam Bam’ realized that he was quite good at fighting. Tuivasa was always quite an athlete, played rugby league, and was even offered a professional contract before his eighteenth birthday. The Sydney native looked all set for a rugby career, one of the most popular sports in Australia.

However, so smitten was ‘Bam Bam’ with fighting that he quit rugby and decided to pursue a career in mixed martial arts. And he hasn’t looked back since. Not one to waste time in the octagon, Tuivasa made an impact straight away as a knockout artist. However, his bar-brawler, kill-or-be-killed fighting style, which makes him so exciting to watch, has backfired lately.

The current 4 fight-losing streak of Tai Tuivasa

Since 2022, Tai Tuivasa has lost four fights in a row. It all started to go wrong for ‘Bam Bam’ in his Fight Night bout against the super-skilled Ciryl Gane in September 2022. The Frenchman overwhelmed Tuivasa with his high work rate, with which the Aussie couldn’t keep up, eventually getting knocked out in the third round.

Next up for Tuivasa was another nightmare matchup with Sergei Pavlovich, the boogeyman of the division. Doing what he does best, the Russian continued his dominant run and knocked out Tuivasa in the first minute of the first round of their December 2022 clash.

Pavlovich’s Russian compatriot and former training partner Alexander Volkov came next at UFC 293 in September 2023. Along with his sharp striking and masterful distance control, ‘Drago’, of course, has a formidable ground game. The Russian used this to good effect against the Aussie who exclusively fights on the feet, submitting him in an Ezekiel choke towards the very end of the second round.

His fourth consecutive loss too came via a submission, with Marcin Tybura catching Tuivasa in a rear naked choke hold in the first round of their Fight Night clash in March 2024. The latter two losses have been especially significant for the Sydney resident since they have exposed his lack of grappling skills and given future opponents a blueprint to deal with the heavyweight striker. This string of losses has taken a toll on Tuivasa’s overall record, too.

Tai Tuivasa’s other losses and overall MMA record

All of Tuivasa’s professional MMA losses have come in the UFC. Overall, he has an MMA record of 15-7, even as his UFC record stands at an unimpressive 8-7. This has mostly been because of two bad patches of form the Aussie has suffered from in the Las Vegas-based promotion.

After joining the Dana White-led promotion in 2017, ‘Bam Bam’ made quite an impact straight away, winning his first three bouts in style. This stellar run of form, however, flipped on its head in his next three bouts against Junior Dos Santos, Blagoy Ivanov, and Serghei Spivac– all of which he lost.

Tuivasa bounced back strongly as he went on to win his next five fights. However, he faced Gane in September 2022, which began another worrying skid in his form. Tuivasa holds one-punch knockout power in his hands and isn’t one to be taken lightly, even if he has faced significant setbacks recently.

What are your thoughts on Tuivasa’s recent consecutive losses? Let us know in the comments below.