Before his back-to-back losses, Tuivasa was on a roll. Five consecutive knockout wins, punctuated with his finish of Derrick Lewis in Houston, had Tuivasa in the highly intriguing heavyweight title picture. Losses to Gane in Paris and Pavlovich in Orlando aren’t anything to hang one’s head about, but Tuivasa definitely doesn’t want to find himself on a three-fight skid as he did back in 2019. The 34-year-old Volkov is a literal tall task at 6-foot-7, but Tuivasa, who does hold a win over Stefan Struve, is no stranger to the situation.
“I think it’s a great matchup,” Tuivasa said. “He’s a guy I’ve watched for many years and someone that I’ve always wanted to share the cage with. It’s great. I’ll get to do it at home. He’s coming off a two-fight winning streak. I’m coming off a two-fight (losing streak), so this is definitely my time to get back on top.”
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As far as replicating that excitement from his UFC debut, Tuivasa is a little skeptical. All he is concerned about is delivering the goods at home this weekend, not about what he has or hasn’t accomplished in the country beforehand.
