Tai Tuivasa previews his UFC 293 clash with Alexander Volkov

NicheSportMedia

Tai Tuivasa (15-5, fighting out of Western Sydney, NSW, Australia) returns with intent of delivering another unforgettable Octagon moment against Alexander Volkov No. 6 UFC heavyweight Eight first-round finishes 14 wins by knockout, 12 first-round finishes Holds wins over Derrick Lewis, Augusto Sakai, and Greg Hardy

Transcript

00:00 I feel like when they announced this card was coming to Sydney you seem to be the name

00:19 that everyone assumed to be near the top of this card so I guess what does it feel like

00:22 now that you're only a few days away from fighting and you might have the biggest pop

00:27 of the entire night.

00:28 The biggest what?

00:29 The biggest ovation.

00:30 That'd be cool.

00:31 No I'm pumped.

00:32 It's been six years since I fought in Sydney, my debut.

00:39 The camp's been awesome.

00:42 I've trained in Sydney, trained at home, ZOO Fitness.

00:46 It's been awesome.

00:47 I'm pumped.

00:48 Just ready to get out there, put a show on for the Aussies and get this party going.

00:56 Have you had to do any more media considering a lot of people assume you're the face of

01:00 this Sydney MMA area.

01:03 When we did the ceremony yesterday you had your own scrum because they called you over

01:07 to do that.

01:08 Did you have any more obligations as compared to previous fights?

01:10 I don't know.

01:12 All the cameras want to see my ugly head.

01:14 Not just here in Australia, everywhere.

01:16 It's alright.

01:17 Historically in the past when you fought Stefan Struve you've done very well against tall

01:21 lanky opponents.

01:22 What do you make of Alexander Volkov as an opponent?

01:25 I think he's a great opponent.

01:27 I think it's going to be a great fight.

01:30 Obviously everyone knows how big he is.

01:35 I don't think he's going to do too well with me on his chest in coming forward.

01:39 So there ain't really much game plan.

01:43 Get in there, fucking smack on and then after party.

01:46 Will your family be in attendance?

01:48 My family will be there.

01:53 You grew the hair out for this one, unless you've cut it and you're hiding it from us.

01:57 Do you feel like that's going to give you some extra powers in the cage on Sunday?

02:01 I haven't fought for a long time so I'm broke.

02:03 I just need some money to get a haircut.

02:07 Sure someone who sees this can help you out.

02:10 Well hopefully Sunday and then Monday I might get a haircut.

02:18 This week there's been a lot of stuff online, cameras following you around, talking about

02:24 what it means not just to be back in Sydney but also so close to Western Sydney.

02:28 What does it mean to be fighting on such a high level card so close to where you grew

02:33 up?

02:34 It means a lot.

02:37 It's going to be awesome.

02:42 It means good, fucking bad.

02:45 How was it to go back to the area?

02:51 I live in the area, everyone knows where I live.

02:54 I'm still there, probably always will be.

02:59 It's great to be home, good to be doing daddy things with my son.

03:06 I feel refreshed, I feel good.

03:08 Usually by now I'm like fuck this, let's just fight.

03:11 But I feel good, I feel really good.

03:13 What does it mean to you to be fighting on the same card as such a close friend and business

03:21 partner in Tyson Pedro?

03:24 It's been a long time me and Tyson to fight on the card together.

03:29 He's like family, he's family.

03:34 All our family's going to be there supporting so it's going to be awesome.

03:37 Just like old times.

03:39 You usually fight two or three times a year, you're a very active fighter.

03:43 This is the first time we'll be seeing you for 2023.

03:46 Was there any particular reason why you hadn't fought any earlier?

03:50 I needed a break.

03:53 The last Russian crushed my face in.

03:55 So I had to have a bit of time off.

03:59 I miss my family, I miss home.

04:03 I'm not from much.

04:06 Living in the area means a lot to me.

04:09 So I needed home, I needed to go home.

04:12 So I went home, I feel good now and I'm fucking ready to roll.

04:17 Last one from me.

04:18 After the fight with Pavlovich, is it weighing on you or an air of importance to put a dominant

04:25 performance over Alexander Volkov this weekend?

04:30 Definitely.

04:31 My last two fights I've got in the hiding.

04:33 So I'm coming out for heads.

04:42 You said before that your game plan is to just go in and box on there.

04:48 What do you see in terms of the future after this fight?

04:51 Where do you think you're planning on going?

04:54 First I'll be going to the World of Entertainment, Penrith Pampers, for the afterparty.

04:59 And then, look, the UFC rings me, they say, "Do you want to fight this guy?"

05:05 I say, "Yes."

05:06 That's how it works.

05:07 So the afterparty will be quite big, a lot of shooies?

05:10 Western Sydney, get ready.

05:12 And just one more for me.

05:14 With the main event, what are you predicting how that's going to turn out?

05:20 Death by Israel.

05:23 Amazing.

05:25 Ty just over here, just over here on your left.

05:28 So obviously Alex Volkov, he presents a lot of problems both in his physicality, his height,

05:34 his reach, but as well as his skill set.

05:36 But does that excite you as an opponent, to be able to see how far you've come in your

05:40 career that now you're fighting these top-tier heavyweights?

05:44 Yeah, that's my aim.

05:48 If I want to fight, I want to fight the best.

05:50 And I fought the best, got a hide in the last two.

05:56 But I'm number five or whatever it is now, so there ain't no easy fights up here.

06:01 And I ain't looking for any easy fights.

06:04 They offered me Volkov, and I said, "Yes."

06:06 And I think it's going to be a great matchup.

06:10 If it's not going to be boring, we're not going to fucking be cuddling each other the

06:13 whole 25 minutes or whatever it is.

06:15 Oh, how many?

06:16 I was about to say, "That's ages."

06:20 We'll fit five minutes, the whole five minutes.

06:22 For sure.

06:23 And look, last one from me.

06:26 Your career got off to really explosive and quick start, some dominant finishes and a

06:30 lot of fights back-to-back.

06:32 Do you think that period where you sort of stepped back and slowed down a bit, when you

06:36 got that work in with DC over at AKA, do you think that that was sort of crucial for the

06:40 development of your career, to just be able to step back, slow down, and focus on developing

06:45 a little bit?

06:46 Well, I think the fighter I am today is very different to the fighter I was on that losing

06:51 streak, to this losing streak.

06:55 But yeah.

06:56 Yeah, fuck.

06:57 Let's go.

06:58 G'day, Ty.

06:59 So you're fighting at home.

07:00 Does that mean you get to stay at home, or does UFC make you stay at the fighter hotel?

07:06 I've actually been staying down the road near the beach in Bronte.

07:11 We don't stick out down there, but it's a nice place.

07:15 We fit in.

07:16 And you're one of five Samoans in the UFC, and there's four of you fighting on Sunday.

07:23 What does it mean to you to be representing your culture on a massive platform like the

07:28 UFC?

07:29 Very proud.

07:30 I always represent where I'm from and who I am, and to do it with my all-source is very

07:36 important and very good for our little small island of Samoa.

07:41 And I know you probably shouldn't look past events, but Saturday night, have you figured

07:46 out how you're going to grieve when the Panthers lose to the Warriors?

07:49 I've got a thousand on it that you'll be grieving.

07:51 Up the wires, mate.

07:54 Thousand says you won't.

07:55 Thousand?

07:56 I don't undergird that kind of money.

07:57 Oh, well then, famer.

07:58 Well then, wah.

07:59 Do you reckon yous will win?

08:00 Yeah, mate.

08:01 Come on, man.

08:02 Wah, wah, wah.

08:03 I'll wipe your tears away at the after party.

08:14 Wipe my ass.

08:21 Thank you.

Category

Transcript

Recommended