A recharged Tai Tuivasa recently spoke to ESPN about his upcoming fight against Ciryl Gane. He is ready to upset the world again and earn a crack at the UFC heavyweight title in the process when he heads to France to fight the division's No. 1 contender.
The UFC Fight Night Paris showdown between the big-swinging duo was confirmed on Wednesday night [AEST], with Tuivasa to fight for the first time since his shock second-round KO of Derrick Lewis at UFC 271 in Houston.
Having worn a flurry of punches from Lewis, Tuivasa was able to turn the tables on his opponent, in his own backyard to boot, securing the biggest victory of a five-fight streak that has seen the Australian go from the brink of MMA obscurity to genuine heavyweight contender.
And he's confident he will make Gane victim No. 6 on his march to a shot at the title. "It's a great fight, I think it's going to be entertaining, plus it's in his hometown, so the pressure's on him again," Tuivasa told ESPN.
"Obviously everyone wants to fight at home; if I could fight in Australia I'd love that as well.
"But f--- it's a fight, you know me, I focus on myself, I'm going to rock up and be ready to fight. And if I land, you'll know about it."
Tuivasa revealed the UFC had offered up lower ranked fighters that made little sense, the Australian adamant he knew his worth and that there would not be any backward step after such a sensational win over Lewis.
"UFC have a way of doing what they want to do, they have a way of pushing people into what they want," Tuivasa said.
"They were offering me a couple of fights that just had nothing to do with anything.
"So the plan was simple, we want to go forward, and there was only one option, and we ended up getting what we thought was the right fight. Now we're here and back to work -- and just going to do another upset.
"We're going to upset the world again."
With the future of heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou unknown, there were suggestions Tuivasa's fight with Gane could be for the interim title. While that didn't eventuate, Tuivasa's mission remains the same. He feels one more win, in typical KO style if he can get it, will make an irresistible case that the strap goes on the line next time around.
"Yeah definitely, that [interim title] was in the conversations as well," Tuivasa revealed.
"But like I said, the UFC is a big company and they have their own plans in the back of their head.
"But I'm the boy from western Sydney, we make our own plans, we do what we want and I suppose once I knock this fulla [sic] out there'll be no other option but to fight for the belt and not an interim. But all that s--- does my head in, I just want to rock up and get paid."
After a few months of down time back in Australia, Tuivasa has begun preparations for Gane with a stopover in Thailand before he returns to Dubai, which has been at the centre of his surge up the heavyweight rankings.