Tai Tuivasa Renews Contract, Will Face Andrei Arlovski At UFC 225

The UFC is in dire need of Heavyweight prospects, and Tai Tuivasa may be their golden boy.


The problem in heavyweight divisions has always been that everyone has power, so experience, rather than athleticism, often carries the day. This means that the top of the division is stacked with old dogs who have all fought each other and been knocked out several times. It’s tough to bring a fresh prospect through these ranks.

After his electric performance at UFC 223 in Perth, Tai Tuivasa has now signed a four-fight contract with the UFC, according to MMAFighting. No time has been wasted, and Tuivasa is already slated to face the veteran Andrei Arlovski at UFC 225 on June 9 in Chicago.

At age 25, Tuivasa (7-0), has won all seven of his professional bouts via either KO or TKO in the first round, the last two being UFC victories.


Strength Wars Movie

This fight means that Andrei (27-15) will have a chance to perform for his hometown Chicago fans.

He currently rides a two-fight winning streak, with the most recent coming via decision over Stefan Struve at UFC 222. He showed an interesting new wrinkle to his game in that fight: takedowns, landing more than in all his previous UFC contests combined.

It’s pretty obvious what the UFC wants here. Arlovski has double-digit knockout losses and has won two fights in his last seven fights, although they were the most recent two. Tuivasa is nothing if not an aggressive knockout artist. He moves shockingly well for a man of his size and body composition, winning his first UFC fight with a flying knee. One of his best weapons is his right elbow, which he will likely be applied inside of Arlovski’s wide punches. Look for Tuivasa to take this one by KO, although it is Heavyweight, where anything can happen.


UFC 225 will be held on June 9th in the United Center. The main event will be a highly anticipated rematch for the UFC Middleweight belt between Robert Whittaker and Yoel Romero.

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