With dominant wrestling propelling him, Sergey Spivak was able to finish a ranked opponent in Tai Tuivasa at UFC 243.
Tai Tuivasa entered UFC 243 in Melbourne, Australia looking to snap a two-fight losing streak — the first two losses of his career. Fighting Sergey Spivak, he had an opportunity to right the ship after coming up short against Junior Dos Santos and Blagoy Ivanov.
It did not, however, go as planned. Tuivasa kicked out Spivak’s legs from under him early, then added a few hammer fists for good measure. Spivak made it back up, ate another leg kick, and had to contend with an uppercut and right hand. Spivak, however, caught a leg and dumped Tuivasa on his back. ‘Bam Bam’ scrambled back to the fence and wall-walked up, successfully escaping any harm. Tuivasa would throw a standing elbow that landed; Spivak would get him to the ground again, but Tuivasa would power up and attack on the way up.
Another throw by Spivak had Tuivasa down in the final ninety seconds, and this time, the fight stayed down. Spivak was in side control, working on a front choke, but Tuivasa would escape, with the crowd roaring their approval. A double-leg takedown followed, and it was clear Tuivasa needed to stop the takedown at all costs heading into the second.
Spivak threw a big overhand right to start the second, then changed levels and shot in for the takedown. Landing that, Tuivasa was once again on the ground, back to the fence. Back up they would trade knees, and Tuivasa would fire off a punch over the top. Another takedown would come at the three minute mark, the seventh takedown Spivak had landed to that point. This takedown got ugly. Spivak began landing some hard punches on Tuivasa, bloodying him. He then locked in an arm-triangle choke, and Tuivasa went out! Sergey Spivak, a big underdog coming in, had his first UFC win, handing Tuivasa his third straight defeat.
Official Result: Sergey Spivak def. Tai Tuivasa by technical submission (arm-triangle choke), Round 2, 3:14
