UFC 269: Tai Tuivasa Believes Fight Against Sakai “Deserves A Crowd”

Las Vegas, NV — Australian heavyweight Tai Tuivasa returns to action at UFC 269, in a fight against Augusto Sakai that he believes “definitely deserves a crowd.”

The fight sees Tuivasa enter on a roll, riding a three-fight win streak after snapping a three-fight skid. “We’re back, baby. We’re back.”

The slump is something that Tuivasa seemingly took in stride; similarly, the win streak has him level-headed. “It’s a fight. There’s always a chance of losing, there’s always a chance of winning. It’s good to be back on a roll, that’s kind of the only thing on my side, but still ready to bang on.”

The crowd being back was something Tuivasa was pumped for, touching on the subject more than once during Wednesday’s UFC 269 media day. “It’s really the reason I fight. You can have a fight at the pub and no one will watch it. But you have a fight in front of a crowd, you got the big audience, it’s a buzz. I love it. It’s one of the biggest reasons I do it.”

Ahead of this fight, Tuivasa has been training in the United Arab Emirates. It wasn’t the original plan, though it appears to be his base of operations for now. “Australia’s been going through some tough times, and I kind of could see what was happening. For Greg Hardy, I kind of trained in the car park, just sh*t like that. Then I went to the UAE from here, I just had a few issues with visas and stuff. I was planning to come to America to train with [Daniel Cormier] and the boys, but the government and whatever else, they’ve got other plans.”

Watch the full UFC 269 media day scrum with Tai Tuivasa above. The event takes place this Saturday, December 11 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, NV. More coverage can be found below.