A UFC heavyweight who has lost each of his last seven bouts has issued a furious statement following his latest defeat.
On Saturday, the UFC travelled to Perth, Western Australia, where Carlos Prates delivered a brutal third-round knockout against Jack Della Maddalena.
Earlier in the night, Quillan Salkilld defeated Beneil Dariush by first-round knockout, while Steve Erceg beat Tim Elliott by decision.
Marwan Rahiki knocked Oliver Schmid out in the first round of their featherweight contest, with Brando Pericic defeating Shamil Gaziev by second-round knockout, also on the main card.
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Meanwhile, fan favourite Tai Tuivasa suffered his seventh loss in a row, losing by unanimous decision to Louie Sutherland. The Australian is now without a win since his knockout victory over Derrick Lewis in February 2022.
Tuivasa came into his most recent bout as a heavy favourite, with Sutherland taking the fight on short notice. However, the Australian conceded several takedowns, spending a large portion of the fight defending from his back.
This comes just two fights after Tuivasa admitted that he had contemplated walking away from the sport as a result of his poor form in recent years. However, he decided to continue fighting, although he did take a year off between August 2024 and February 2026, when his return ended in defeat.
Following his defeat against Sutherland, the heavyweight posted an expletive rant to his Instagram page in which he takes responsibility for his seventh successive defeat.
“Sorry, I tried,” Tuivasa wrote. “I felt good. I put in the work. Didn’t get the result. I feel like a shit c*nt. Let my fans down again. Back to the drawing board for me. C*nt of a sport.
“But I will never give up. I’m from western Sydney, you gotta put me out for me to give up. Sorry all my loyal fans, I really am and to my team, love yahs.”
Fans waded in with messages of support.
One said: “Peoples champ and always an inspiration brother!!!”
Another added: “Still the best."
A third commented: “We go again uso.”
Most fighters would have been cut by the UFC long before being given the chance to put a torrid run of seven defeats together, but Tuivasa's fan-friendly personality appears to be buying him time for now.
Luke Davies