Tai Tuivasa has revealed which live audience he believes was the best out of all his fights. ‘Bam Bam’ is a bona fide fan-favorite. Rather unsurprisingly, the live audience’s reactions to the Australian MMA stalwart and his fights generally tend to be raucous.
That’s been particularly true since the shoey enthusiast’s recent rise to stardom.
In an interview with MMA legend Daniel Cormier, Tuivasa addressed multiple topics, including which live audience he feels put forth the greatest reaction to his fight.
‘DC’ alluded to the lively atmosphere and passionate fans at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas, for Tuivasa’s second-round KO win against Derrick Lewis at UFC 271 on February 12, 2022.
Alternatively, Daniel Cormier harked back to Tai Tuivasa’s most recent fight, a third-round KO loss in a heavyweight classic against Ciryl Gane. The Gane-Tuivasa matchup headlined a UFC Fight Night card at the Accor Arena in Paris, France, on September 3, 2022. It was the UFC’s first event in France.
Cormier asked whether the French crowd’s reaction to their fighter Gane’s entrance was louder than the one Houston’s Derrick Lewis got in his hometown. ‘Bam Bam’ responded by stating:
“Not when he’d come out, but the [Paris] crowd when we were fighting was the best crowd ever…” When asked whether he was talking about the crowd in attendance at UFC Paris indeed, Tuivasa said, “Definitely, by far, yeah, by far.”
Daniel Cormier then suggested that the fans who attended the UFC Paris event were simply “bloodthirsty for it.” Tai Tuivasa replied by saying:
“Yeah, yeah, they were crazy… I love that. It makes work so much easier.”
Watch Tuivasa discuss the topic at 4:20 in the video below:
Tai Tuivasa on why fighting in his native Australia next doesn’t interest him
Tai Tuivasa will face Sergei Pavlovich in a pivotal heavyweight matchup at the UFC on ESPN: Thompson vs. Holland event on December 3, 2022. During a recent promotional media scrum ahead of his fight, Tuivasa explained why he’s competing this month rather than fighting at the UFC 284 card on February 12, 2023, in his native Australia.
‘Bam Bam’ highlighted that he aims to return to the win column and end 2022 with a bang. Furthermore, Tai Tuivasa indicated that he’d like to spend Christmas with family as he’s been away for a long time. Tuivasa claimed that he’ll be attending UFC 284 despite not fighting at the event and stated:
“They offered me the fight [in December]. [In] February, that means camp would have to be over Christmas and New Year’s and I wanted to spend Christmas with my son… Definitely, I’ll be there [at UFC 284].”
Watch Tuivasa’s assessment below: