Tai Tuivasa needs to lose considerable weight before his next fight.
The seasoned heavyweight fighter is currently on a five-fight losing streak and is not expected to compete for the rest of 2025. The 32-year-old Australian confirmed this during an interview on The Ariel Helwani Show, stating that while he hopes to resume his career soon, he is significantly above the divisional weight limit.
“I’m going to go back into the cage,” Tuivasa said. “I’m going to aim for the start of next year.”
He added, remarking on his current physique and the need to train:
“Look at me, I need to get back in the gym. I need to get ready. I’ll be 140 kg [approx. 308 pounds], easy. It’s big, whatever it is, I don’t know, it’s big.”
Tuivasa faces considerable challenges both inside and outside training as he works towards his objectives. After achieving five consecutive knockout victories between 2020 and 2022, which brought him close to title contention (notably after knocking out Derrick Lewis), his trajectory has reversed with losses to notable contenders including Ciryl Gane, Sergei Pavlovich, Alexander Volkov, Marcin Tybura, and Jairzinho Rozenstruik.
His recent series of defeats played a significant role in his decision to take a break from competing after his last fight in August.
“Definitely, that’s why I needed this break,” Tuivasa said. “I feel much better now I’ve had this break. It’s kind of grounded me a little bit in what I want to do. I’ve been going hard in my businesses and stuff like that, so it’s definitely given me some time away from training and from fighting, but we’re fighters, so it’s naturally in me and I’m kind of missing it now.”
He expressed a strong desire to return, emphasizing his motivation:
“I definitely want to get back into it, but I want to come back and I’ve got something to prove. I’m not done yet.”
The defeat against Rozenstruik was particularly disappointing; Tuivasa delivered an uninspired three-round effort, resulting in a decision loss (initially a split decision due to an exceptionally poor scorecard from Howie Booth, which led to Booth being removed from judging duties for the remainder of the event).
Beyond regretting the loss itself, Tuivasa stated he regrets the fight going the distance.
“I think after the last fight where I was like, ‘F*ck, I should have smashed him,’ I was like, ‘I need a break to get back to why I want to do this,’” Tuivasa said. “Winning is winning and losing is losing, but going out there, it takes a toll on you, it takes a toll on your team, I needed to just get back to ground level. I kind of feel like I’m back there now. The only thing is I’ve got a bit of kilos on.”
