Tai Tuivasa is set to face Louie Sutherland on the main card of UFC Fight Night 275 at RAC Arena in Perth, Western Australia, on Saturday.
Tuivasa enters the bout on a six-fight losing streak and most recently returned from an almost two-year layoff at UFC 325 in February, where he lost to Tallison Teixeira. He owns a 14-9 MMA record and is 8-9 in the UFC. Sutherland steps in with a 10-5 professional mark and an 0-2 record in the UFC.
The matchup comes after an opponent change for Tuivasa, who was originally scheduled to face Sean Sharaf before Sharaf withdrew due to injury.
Tuivasa made clear what this fight means to him, saying, "Definitely, my f*cking ass is on the line," and adding, "It's probably been on the line a lot of the time, but I f*cking put asses in the seats, so it is what it is. I feel good and I'm going to go out there and do what 'Bam Bam' does in 'Bam Bam' style – and not f*cking lose, dickheads."
Reflecting on his current skid, Tuivasa said, "I'm on a six-fight losing streak – f*cking shouldn't be that hard to get me a fight," and joked, "Get someone from the pub or something, please. F*cking man needs something."
