What makes Tuivasa such an interesting fighter to track heading into Saturday’s showdown with Sakai is that you can understand the ebbs and flows of his career to this point.
He reached the UFC as a 24-year-old kid with limited experience, and then faltered when he was forced to contend with seasoned veterans like Junior Dos Santos and Blagoy Ivanov, and a more technical, grappling-based newcomer in Serghei Spivac. But now he’s a little older, a little wiser, and knows he can’t simply overwhelm folks with his power and surprising athleticism, and he’s made adjustments.
He still hits like a Mack truck and can do things you don’t expect someone of his stature to do so effortlessly, but he’s also got four years’ experience competing on the biggest stage in the sport, and is just now reaching that point where talented fighters often start to hit their stride and climb the ladder.
André Muniz
André Muniz has won seven consecutive fights and 15 of his last 16 appearances, including all three of his UFC appearances to date. Last time out, “Sergipano” collected a first-round technical submission victory over longtime title contender Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza, becoming the first person to submit the Brazilian in MMA competition.
Despite his current run of success and impressive outing in May at UFC 262, the 31-year-old remains on the outside looking in when it comes to the Top 15 in the middleweight division. After briefly cracking the rankings following his victory, the recent slate of results in the division have bumped him from the collection of fighters sporting numbers next to their names, but in terms of results and skills, Muniz most certain has what it takes to compete with anyone in that group.
