“He is in a BETTER spot now-” Chael Sonnen reasons why Tai Tuivasa is ONLY one ‘marquee win’ away from a UFC title shot


“He is in a BETTER spot now-” Chael Sonnen reasons why Tai Tuivasa is ONLY one ‘marquee win’ away from a UFC title shot

Tai Tuivasa

It’s true that although a loss to Ciryl Gane is disappointing, regardless, Tai Tuivasa is still the same fighter when it comes to being a stellar attraction to the fight fans. Tuivasa, the #3 ranked UFC heavyweight last fought in the first ever UFC event hosted in France but unfortunately didn’t go his way as the country’s own and former interim-UFC heavyweight champion Ciryl Gane defeated the Australian via third-round knockout.

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Regardless, Tuivasa is one of the most popular names on the UFC roster today. Not only that, Tuivasa has some huge knockout wins on his resume over the likes of Derrick Lewis, Greg Hardy, Augusto Sakai, Stephan Struve, Andrei Arlovski, Cyril Asker and many more. In one of the videos on his YouTube channel, MMA legend Chael Sonnen explains why Tuivasa’s loss to Gane is not a setback but rather a catalyst for Tuivasa’s aspirations of becoming the UFC heavyweight champion.

“Tai Tuivasa is in a better spot now as it pertains to getting a title,” says Sonnen. “Tuivasa needs one marquee win and he’s right back there in the title picture… Tuivasa would not have been discussed in the title shot had he beat Ciryl… Tuivasa’s the most popular heavyweight ever… there’s nobody, that can bring 15,000 people to their feet, taking shoes off [doing shoey], you just can’t do it… this guy is massive.. as well as he’s competing the best guys in the world, he still has potential…” continued Sonnen, concluding that Tuivasa still having a huge potential curiously is what will keep the fans rooted for his title contention.

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Ciryl Gane’s respect for Tai Tuivasa and the uncertain state of the UFC heavyweight champion

Ciryl Gane vs Tai Tuivasa
Ciryl Gane vs Tai Tuivasa

Not so long ago, Tuivasa’s former opponent, Ciryl Gane uploaded a short throwback tweet on his win over the former at UFC Paris. However, Gane being himself, he was respectful and had some generous choice of words for the Australian. Gane uploaded a clip of him getting knocked down by Tuivasa and wrote in the caption: “What a gunfight that was… I loved every second of it! Thank you @bambamtuivasa, you made me a better fighter.”

What’s next for Gane is a quite unsure road. With the next possible title fight against the undisputed UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou, some rumours are also anticipating the return of light heavyweight great Jon Jones who has taken nearly a 3-year layoff now to prepare himself for his debut in the heavyweight division. Also, former UFC heavyweight champion, widely regarded as the greatest of the biggest weight class in UFC history, Stipe Miocic hasn’t fought in a long time as well- since March 2021- after his loss to Ngannou.

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What do you make of Chael Sonnen’s words of sheer encouragement for Tai Tuivasa? Who do you think is next for Tuivasa? Where do you put Tuivasa amongst the best knockout artists in UFC history? Do you see Tuivasa becoming a UFC champion in the near future, or even getting a title shot as Sonnen claims? What do you make of the overall state of the UFC heavyweight division and who do you think should Gane fight next? For many, another UFC fighter as deserving of the crack at the heavyweight gold as Gane is Curtis Blaydes, do you think that is the fight to make? If so, who wins that one?

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