“There is no opportunity in this sport like there is at heavyweight… But you’ve got a whole bunch of dumb dumbs.” Back in 2022, Chael Sonnen trashed the entire heavyweight realm as Jon Jones was getting ready to face Stipe Miocic. It’s often termed as the division where fighters can get ranked right after a couple of wins. However, the accusations hit much harder when a heavyweight trashes his own division. And that’s what happened when Tai Tuivasa, a #10 heavyweight contender, talked about other heavyweights.
During a conversation with Ariel Helwani on his YouTube talk show, Tuivasa entered a tough spot as he traveled back in time to his fight against Ciryl Gane at UFC Paris 2022. The MMA reporter pointed out that ‘Bam Bam’ was just seconds away from putting a stop to the Frenchman. But all Tuivasa uttered was, “I’ve heard this a billion times.” Had Gane not knocked Tuivasa out, the Australian would have been the one to welcome Jon Jones into the heavyweight realm. Needless to say, Tuivasa regretted losing to ‘Bon Gamin’. But Helwani went on to help Tuivasa imagine an ideal alternate universe, where he was on a winning streak and en route to defend his title against Tom Aspinall for $30M, after beating Jones and Gane. The question that struck out was—Did Tai Tuivasa think about such a scenario?
‘Bam Bam’ replied, “Of course, I was thinking about it and it’s definitely been something I’ve been thinking about a lot since I’ve been having this time off.” But the shocker came right after that, when he attacked the top 15 heavyweight contenders in the UFC. He continued, “I don’t watch the fights, but I watch some things… The heavyweights are s—. They’re all s—, except for Jon Jones and Tom Aspinall. Other than that, f—– everyone’s pretty standard.”
“It’s definitely been something I’ve been thinking about a lot since I’ve been having this time off… The heavyweights are shit. They’re all shit, except for Jon Jones and Tom Aspinall. Other than that, fucking everyone’s pretty standard.”
Tai Tuivasa on the state of UFC’s… pic.twitter.com/67IEb5IMiT
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) April 23, 2025
And while ‘Bam Bam’ trashed the top 15 heavyweights in the UFC athlete rankings, he himself is on a 5-fight losing streak. Let’s see what he had to say about his previous losses, shall we?
Tai Tuivasa once credited his fellow heavyweights as some of the best
The Australians’ losing streak began in UFC Paris in 2022, when Gane KOed him in the final round of their bout. Then Sergei Pavlovich and Alexander Volkov finished him in their later bouts. Weighing in on his losses, Tuivasa told Helwani on his previous appearance on The MMA Hour, “The thing is, I’m losing against f—— Ciryl Gane and Sergei Pavlovich. These guys ain’t no call-ins off the street. Alex Volkov. If I was losing against some bums, f—, I’d write myself off too. But these guys are the best in the world. So I’m sweet. I’ve just got to keep my head straight.”
But now, does his thrashing of the HWs mean Tuivasa’s path to the top of the division is already laid out in front of him? Well, he does believe so. But there’s one hurdle. He currently weighs around 308 pounds. Which means that he’d have to lose more than 60 pounds to be eligible to fight in the heavyweight division. He claimed, “I’m gonna get back in the training, I’m gonna get myself ready, I’m gonna get myself around a good team, and I’m gonna, you know, I’m gonna get back. That’s all they know. That’s alright. I’ll be back.”
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – MARCH 20: Tai Tuivasa of Australia reacts after his victory over Harry Hunsucker in their heavyweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at UFC APEX on March 20, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
Nevertheless, despite a 5-fight losing streak in his professional record, Tuivasa seemed pretty determined to redeem himself. He’s already a top 10 contender in the heavyweight category. About 2 wins over top 5 fighters might just get him the title shot that he craves to taste. But that’s not going to happen before 2026.
Do you think Tuivasa can walk through the current top 10 contenders in the heavyweight division? What are your thoughts about the criticism that ‘Bam Bam’ had for his division? Let us know what you think in the comments down below.
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