Tai Tuivasa vs. Augusto Sakai re-booked for UFC 269
A heavyweight fight featuring fan favorite Tai Tuivasa and top-10 ranked contender Augusto Sakai has been re-booked for UFC 269.
Tuivasa vs. Sakai was originally set to take place at UFC Vegas 42, but the fight was scratched and moved to UFC 269, which takes place on December 11 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The reason for the fight being moved was reportedly due to visa issues, but it feels like everything has worked out the way it was supposed to. While UFC Vegas 42 was a card at the UFC Apex without many fans in attendance, UFC 269 takes place in a stadium where 20,000 screaming fans will be cheering for them.
Tuivasa (13-3) is coming off of three straight wins by knockout over Greg Hardy, Harry Hunsucker, and Stefan Struve. The 28-year-old Aussie has really looked good lately with those performances, this coming after he had suffered a three-fight losing skid and appeared to be close to being cut by the UFC. Overall, Tuivasa has a 6-3 record in the promotion with five knockout victories. In addition, he’s a big fan-favorite due to his infamous “shooey” where he drinks beer out of his shoe after he wins his fights in the Octagon.
Sakai (15-3-1) is currently the No. 10 ranked heavyweight in the UFC. The 30-year-old Brazilian is coming off of back-to-back losses to Jairzinho Rozenstruik and Alistair Overeem by knockout and overall he just hasn’t performed well following his first four fights in the UFC, which were all victories. Still, he is a big heavyweight who has a ton of experience fighting in both the UFC and Bellator, and it will be interesting to see how he responds to this matchup with Tuivasa coming off of the bad knockout losses.
Who do you think wins this heavyweight fight at UFC 269 between Tai Tuivasa and Augusto Sakai?
