Tai Tuivasa tied an unprosperous record at UFC 331.
On the prelims of the numbered event at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, Tuivasa (14-11 MMA, 8-11 UFC), welcomed Robelis Despaigne back to the promotion for his second stint. After 15 minutes of action, Despaigne (7-2 MMA, 2-2 UFC) convinced two of the official judges that his work was more effective as he took home the split decision win (29-28, 28-29, 29-28).
The first punch Despaigne landed sent Tuivasa to the canvas.
The Australian popped right back up and started throwing huge bombs with Despaigne, making for a wild first minute of action – but things quickly slowed down from there. Tuivasa wound up on the bottom after a clinch, survived full mount, and got back to his feet. More wild punches
were thrown by both, and Tuivasa ended up on top with a takedown and hunted for a head and arm choke until the end of the round.
Tuivasa came out swinging hard in Round 2, tagging Despaigne with a couple of shots before clinching up. Despaigne snuck in a nice knee after a separation, and then took advantage of the next clinch by hitting a nice hip toss to take the fight to the mat. The referee stood them up after the position stalled, and the fight went to Round 3.
With just five minutes to work, Tuivasa didn't take too many chances in space. He landed a hard inside leg kick to take Despaigne off balance, and then rushed in to clinch up and work for a takedown. Despaigne managed to create some space and land a few damaging shots, causing blood to flow from his nose. Despaigne scored another hip toss to run down the clock, and Tuivasa was unable to do anything once he got back to his feet in the final 10 seconds.
With the result, Tuivasa ties the UFC record for most consecutive losses at eight, joining Tony Ferguson. Tuivasa's last win was a second-round finish of Derrick Lewis at UFC 271 in February 2022.
Despaigne starts his second UFC run with a grinding win. His first run began and ended in 2024, when he won his debut in 18 seconds by knocking out Josh Parisian, but then lost a pair of lackluster decisions to Waldo Cortes-Acosta and Austen Lane.
Up-to-the-minute UFC 331 results:
- Robelis Despaigne def. Tai Tuivasa via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Michael Aswell Jr. def. JooSang Yoo via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Ryan Gandra def. Ozzy Diaz via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 2:04
- Edmen Shahbazyan def. Brunno Ferreira via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
- Casey O'Neill def. Eduarda Moura via submission (armbar) – Round 1, 3:22
- Joanderson Brito def. Giga Chikadze via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 1:57
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC 331: Tai Tuivasa ties unfortunate record in Robelis Despaigne loss
