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Tuivasa still salty over the punishment Hunt suffered at the hands of Junior, not to mention the beautiful spinning wheel kick KO (from a 6'4 240 lbs guy).
Expect another KO win for Junior, after a long time.
https://www.news.com.au/sport/ufc/u...f/news-story/f10e9066196d5dc07ac5061927b0a967
TAI Tuivasa is not one to tip-toe around the heavyweight division.
So when he sat down with Sean Shelby and Mick Maynard at UFC headquarters in August, he made his intentions clear.
Tuivasa wanted a piece of former champ Junior Dos Santos.
“He was always the guy I wanted to fight,” Tuivasa said from Thailand, where he is training with fellow Sydney knockout artist Mark Hunt.
“I’ve got a lot of respect for JDS, I watched him when he run the world, he was the baddest dude on the planet and that’s the guy I want to fight.
“And he also beat Mark, so I want to get one back. It’s always about redemption. That’s how we roll.”
Locked in as the headline act at UFC Fight Night Adelaide on December 2, Tuivasa revealed he had sought a bout with Dos Santos for several months.
Tuivasa said he considered bouts with a host of contenders — namely Alistair Overeem — but settled on the Brazilian.
“All these guys I want to fight, but I don’t want to tip-toe my way around this fight game,” Tuivasa said.
“I’m in it for the guts and the glory and I want to fight the baddest dudes.
“I want to be able to say ‘I got smashed’ or “I won’. That’s why I do this sport. And I think it’s going to be an entertaining fight.
“I don’t think we’re going to go in there and take each other down, we’re going to be trying to take each other’s heads off.”
Ranked No. 7 in the world, “Cigano” Dos Santos (19-5) secured a decision victory over Bulgarian Blagoy Ivanov back in July, making amends for his crushing title defeat to Stipe Miocic at UFC 2011 in May.
“Bam Bam” Tuivasa, who broke into the top 10 in June with his win over Belarusian Andrei Arlovski at UFC 225, is riding a 10-fight win streak.
And with three-straight wins in the UFC octagon, Tuivasa is confident of taking another scalp.
“I didn’t know if he was going to take it or not because it’s a pretty risky fight for him,” Tuivasa said.
“I’m below him, I’m younger and I’ve really got nothing to lose. That’s how I go into these fights, I’ve got nothing to lose.
“I want to fight these guys to challenge myself. If I win, I move up. If he loses, he moves down. It’s a risky fight for him but I’m just honoured to fight him.
“I’m at home, in front of my crowd and I’m going to try and take his head off. It’s gonna be a great fight and that’s why it’s a headliner.”
Tuivasa was pushed to three rounds by Arlovski, suffering a badly broken nose, but he concedes he faces a more stern test against Dos Santos.
“It’s the young bull versus the old bull,” Tuivasa said.
“It’s like my last fight. I wanted to prove a few people wrong and try and fight through the rounds.
“Obviously I tried to knock him out, but these guys are experienced and I’m still new to the sport and still learning a lot.
“I took a lot out of that fight. It’s the first time I’ve been able to watch myself for more than four minutes, so I’ve taken a lot from the fight and I know what I’ve got to work on
“But this fight, I’ll come out different. I’m gonna try and come out with some heat and finish it real quick.”
A key part of Hunt’s training camp at aka Thailand, Tuivasa said the pair leave for Russia on Sunday ahead of the “Super Samoan’s” bout with Ukrainian Aleksei Oleinik at UFC Fight Night 36.
And Hunt is looking scaringly good.
“The warhorse is in the best shape,” Tuivasa said.
“It’s the best he’s been in weight before the fight. I think he’s 123kg, and he normally has to cut a few kilos in the last week, but he’ll walk into this one.
“I think he’s just excited to fight again.”
https://www.news.com.au/sport/ufc/u...f/news-story/f10e9066196d5dc07ac5061927b0a967
Expect another KO win for Junior, after a long time.
https://www.news.com.au/sport/ufc/u...f/news-story/f10e9066196d5dc07ac5061927b0a967
TAI Tuivasa is not one to tip-toe around the heavyweight division.
So when he sat down with Sean Shelby and Mick Maynard at UFC headquarters in August, he made his intentions clear.
Tuivasa wanted a piece of former champ Junior Dos Santos.
“He was always the guy I wanted to fight,” Tuivasa said from Thailand, where he is training with fellow Sydney knockout artist Mark Hunt.
“I’ve got a lot of respect for JDS, I watched him when he run the world, he was the baddest dude on the planet and that’s the guy I want to fight.
“And he also beat Mark, so I want to get one back. It’s always about redemption. That’s how we roll.”
Locked in as the headline act at UFC Fight Night Adelaide on December 2, Tuivasa revealed he had sought a bout with Dos Santos for several months.
Tuivasa said he considered bouts with a host of contenders — namely Alistair Overeem — but settled on the Brazilian.
“All these guys I want to fight, but I don’t want to tip-toe my way around this fight game,” Tuivasa said.
“I’m in it for the guts and the glory and I want to fight the baddest dudes.
“I want to be able to say ‘I got smashed’ or “I won’. That’s why I do this sport. And I think it’s going to be an entertaining fight.
“I don’t think we’re going to go in there and take each other down, we’re going to be trying to take each other’s heads off.”
Ranked No. 7 in the world, “Cigano” Dos Santos (19-5) secured a decision victory over Bulgarian Blagoy Ivanov back in July, making amends for his crushing title defeat to Stipe Miocic at UFC 2011 in May.
“Bam Bam” Tuivasa, who broke into the top 10 in June with his win over Belarusian Andrei Arlovski at UFC 225, is riding a 10-fight win streak.
And with three-straight wins in the UFC octagon, Tuivasa is confident of taking another scalp.
“I didn’t know if he was going to take it or not because it’s a pretty risky fight for him,” Tuivasa said.
“I’m below him, I’m younger and I’ve really got nothing to lose. That’s how I go into these fights, I’ve got nothing to lose.
“I want to fight these guys to challenge myself. If I win, I move up. If he loses, he moves down. It’s a risky fight for him but I’m just honoured to fight him.
“I’m at home, in front of my crowd and I’m going to try and take his head off. It’s gonna be a great fight and that’s why it’s a headliner.”
Tuivasa was pushed to three rounds by Arlovski, suffering a badly broken nose, but he concedes he faces a more stern test against Dos Santos.
“It’s the young bull versus the old bull,” Tuivasa said.
“It’s like my last fight. I wanted to prove a few people wrong and try and fight through the rounds.
“Obviously I tried to knock him out, but these guys are experienced and I’m still new to the sport and still learning a lot.
“I took a lot out of that fight. It’s the first time I’ve been able to watch myself for more than four minutes, so I’ve taken a lot from the fight and I know what I’ve got to work on
“But this fight, I’ll come out different. I’m gonna try and come out with some heat and finish it real quick.”
A key part of Hunt’s training camp at aka Thailand, Tuivasa said the pair leave for Russia on Sunday ahead of the “Super Samoan’s” bout with Ukrainian Aleksei Oleinik at UFC Fight Night 36.
And Hunt is looking scaringly good.
“The warhorse is in the best shape,” Tuivasa said.
“It’s the best he’s been in weight before the fight. I think he’s 123kg, and he normally has to cut a few kilos in the last week, but he’ll walk into this one.
“I think he’s just excited to fight again.”
https://www.news.com.au/sport/ufc/u...f/news-story/f10e9066196d5dc07ac5061927b0a967
