One of the UFC’s most prolific knockout artists Tai Tuivasa has teased his return to the Octagon.
When it comes to an all-around entertainer, not many fit the bill on MMA’s biggest stage quite like Tai Tuivasa.
From being serenaded to the cage by cheesy ’90s classics and celebrating victories with a shoey, or two (or seven), to the brutal knockouts he delivers when it comes time to fight, “Bam Bam” has firmly established himself as one of the UFC’s top fan favorites.
In the second half of 2022, though, Tuivasa’s form took somewhat of a nosedive.
After extending his KO winning streak to five last February with a memorable finish of Derrick Lewis, Tuivasa fell short of title contention when he headed to Paris, France. While he became the first to knock Ciryl Gane down, the Australian was ultimately finished.
Although Tai Tuivasa was still able to entertain in the French capital, the same couldn’t be said three months later in Orlando, where the #6-ranked heavyweight was stopped by Sergei Pavlovich in under a minute.
With many believing he’d returned too soon after his setback against “Bon Gamin,” Tuivasa returned home to enjoy the holiday season with his family and witness the UFC 284 event in his home country as a fan.
Now, however, it appears that “Bam Bam” is ready to spice things up at heavyweight.
Tai Tuivasa: ‘Heavyweight Division’s Been Boring’
Since Tai Tuivasa last competed, the heavyweight division has undergone somewhat of a makeover. In addition to Francis Ngannou vacating the belt and departing the promotion, former two-time light heavyweight champion Jon Jones returned and jumped straight onto the throne.
Elsewhere, the likes of Serghei Spivac, Marcin Tybura, and Alexander Volkov have all recorded victories. But having watched from afar, Tuivasa clearly isn’t impressed.
The Aussie took to Instagram this week to tease his return, implying he’ll soon look to bring some excitement back to the UFC’s heaviest weight class.
“@ufc Heavyweight divisions been boooooooooooorrrriiiing ?,” Tuivasa wrote. “I suppose I should get my fat ass back in the gym ? See y’all soon ??? #bambam #FTA#westernsydneyy”
With Tuivasa gearing up for his first outing of 2023 and Tom Aspinall reaching the end of his recovery timeline, it looks like some big names and matchups will be gracing the cage at heavyweight later this year.