Las Vegas, NV — Heavyweight Tai Tuivasa is happy to see some semblance of normality returning to the world ahead of UFC 264.
Fans will be back at the T-Mobile Arena for the card this Saturday, and Tuivasa for one is glad to see them. Noting that he could hear himself breathing in his last fight, the Australian said he’s “pumped to be back” at Wednesday’s UFC 264 media day. “Good to see that America’s open and everyone’s out and about.”
In what promises to be a violent affair Saturday night, “Bam Bam” has been paired up with former NFL star Greg Hardy. Despite Hardy’s high-profile fall from grace, Tuivasa said Wednesday that he wasn’t too familiar with his new foe.
“No, not really. Like I know he’s in the heavyweight division and what not. I saw him fight [Ben] Sosoli. And that’s all I knew,” said Tuivasa, before adding “I knew he played in the NFL and that. Great achievement, what an athlete, to be able to represent yourself in the NFL and the UFC. It’s a great achievement. But now he’s talking about breaking my face and whatnot. We’ll see about that.”
Tuivasa claims not to have watched much tape on his opponent, despite Hardy’s physical prowess. “He’s big and strong, I’m fat and strong. It’s all good.”
While Tuivasa prepared for Hardy at home in Australia this time around, moving forward, his plan is to return to the American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) in the U.S.
“That’s the plan. I’ve decided that I’m not going to do my camps in Australia anymore. There’s just nothing really there for me to reach that next level.” It’s something that Tuivasa committed to prior to COVID-19. “This has been just all bullsh*t in between. The only thing that’s really stopping me is this quarantine,” he added, comparing Australia’s two-week mandatory travel quarantine to being in jail.
Watch the full UFC 264 media day scrum with Tai Tuivasa above. The event takes place this Saturday, July 10 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
