Training in Dubai Helped Tai Tuivasa Become 'Absolutely Focused' for UFC 305

Tai Tuivasa hit a low point when he dropped his fourth consecutive UFC bout earlier this year.

After a first-round submission loss to Marcin Tybura at UFC Fight Night 239 on March 16, Tuivasa told Fox Sports Australia that he exited the UFC Apex almost immediately, walking barefoot in Las Vegas while still wearing his fight gear.

“I was so angry,” Tuivasa said. “And my head, it was everywhere. I just kept saying to myself, ‘How s—t is this…how s—t is it to be a loser?’”

The 31-year-old Tuivasa quickly became a fan favorite in the promotion thanks to his affable nature, penchant for knockouts and post-fight shoey celebrations. “Bam Bam” had endured a three-fight losing streak earlier in his UFC tenure, but he rebounded with a five-fight tear that culminated with a brutal elbow finish of knockout king Derrick Lewis at UFC 271 in February 2022.

Since then, however, Tuivasa has fallen on hard times, suffering losses to Tybura, Alexander Volkov, Sergei Pavlovich and Ciryl Gane — all inside the distance. He hoped that the Tybura fight would mark a turnaround, but it didn’t. Tuivasa now knows that he still wasn’t in the right head space.

“The reason for losing my last couple of fights, it’s been mental,” he said. “Those times, I haven’t been in the fight. Or not really. I wanted to fight. Wanted to hurt. But I just wasn’t there, you know? I’ve carried s—t from outside the cage into my fights, and it’s shown.

“Because I really wanted that fight to be where everything changed. Wanted that to be my comeback. But I was still too angry. So it wasn’t.”

Tuivasa doesn’t specify exactly what was going on outside the cage, only that it was “personal stuff.” However, by moving his training camp away from his hometown of Sydney, Tuivasa was able to gain some fresh perspective. He believes that setting up shop in Dubai has improved his focus significantly ahead of his UFC 305 meeting with Jairzinho Rozenstruik on Saturday.

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“But it gets to the point where you say ‘OK, f-k it’,” Tuivasa said. “Having to leave my son, it’s tough. But I’m from the hood, man. I know nobody changes anything but me. And over in Dubai I’m away from everything and everyone. The only thing on my mind is fighting.”

Tuivasa admits that if he’s at home, he can sometimes become distracted.

“Because I’m a normal bloke,” he said. “Love my mates, love a drink. I’ve got a lot of family in Sydney, a lot of friends and things going on. Again, I’m a f—ing normal person and it’s easy for me to get caught up. Which is why I needed to get away. And in Dubai, I’m away from everything. Tuned in. I’ve been off the drink … absolutely focused.”

Perhaps just as important, Tuivasa claims to be in the right frame of mind.

“And I feel prepared now,” Tuivasa isaid. “Not just physically fit, either. I’m mentally ready. And fighting, it’s 80 percent mental. So I’m not going in there just to get things f—ing done with. I’m going in there to win. And I know I’ve done everything to prepare for that."