Tai Tuivasa’s disappointing losing streak continued at UFC Perth on Saturday and it’s tough to imagine he’ll get another chance in the octagon.
This time it was Louie Sutherland, who scored multiple takedowns and racked up copious amounts of control time on the ground as Tuivasa was just stuck on his back with no chance to escape. Tuivasa even managed a late foul, which cost him a point, as the final scores read 30-26 across the board as Sutherland got the unanimous decision win.
“Listen, me and my
coaches said it, we done a big 360, we started here, it didn’t go to plan,” Sutherland said after his first UFC win. “But that’s on a week’s notice, who you f*cking booing? I love fighting. I’ve know I’ve got the skills to win in this organization. Get me anybody, I’ll fight them all. Marcin Tybura, Serbia, let’s have at it!”
It didn’t take long for Sutherland to shoot for a takedown but Tuivasa resisted before shrugging him off to reset in the center. But Sutherland was undeterred as he shot again to put Tuivasa on the ground but the veteran Australian heavyweight was able to get up again without much struggle.
Back on the feet, Tuivasa blasted Sutherland with a couple of nasty punches and an elbow but the Brit survived before firing back with a spinning back elbow and a knee right up the middle that landed clean. A wild scramble ensued with Sutherland landing on top with Tuivasa playing defense on the ground.
Sutherland stayed in control until the round ended and the heavyweights restarted on the feet in the second.
But Sutherland quickly closed the distance and effectively tossed Tuivasa to the ground as he fell into side control. While the action was minimal, Sutherland eventually advanced to the mount before looking for an arm triangle choke, although he wasn’t able to lock it up.
Still, Sutherland stayed on top and shut down Tuivasa’s best efforts to get up again.
With five minutes remaining, Sutherland cracked Tuivasa with a stiff calf kick before scoring another takedown in the center of the cage. Tuivasa was just flat on his back with the referee warning Sutherland that he need to do more work to maintain his position.
Sutherland did just enough to hold Tuivasa down but the fighters were eventually stood up with less than a minute remaining. This time, Sutherland effectively just flopped to the ground and Tuivasa threw a knee to the head, which cost him a point as the fight came to an end.
While Sutherland celebrated his win, Tuivasa was understandably disappointed in defeat, especially knowing he was probably fighting for his job at UFC Perth. He now goes hope after a seventh straight defeat and an uncertain future as far as his UFC career goes.
