Tai Tuivasa's Time in UFC Should Be Up

Tai Tuivasa (14-10 MMA, 8-10 UFC) is entering UFC 331 on Saturday night hoping to avoid matching a record no fighter wants to have on his resume. He'll be fighting on Saturday's undercard from Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on a seven-fight losing streak.

One more defeat in his fight against Robelis Despaigne (6-2 MMA, 1-2 UFC) means Tuivasa, who went on two separate five-fight winning streaks earlier in his 18-bout UFC tenure, would tie Tony Ferguson for the longest losing streak in UFC promotional history, weight class notwithstanding. Saturday's co-featured undercard contest against Despaigne is Tai Tuivasa's third walk to the fabled Octagon thus far in 2026.

It's his first walk to the Octagon this year to take place outside of Australia. He hasn't fought in the United States since March of 2024 during UFC Vegas 88's main event versus Marcin Tybura at the then-named UFC Apex facility in Enterprise, NV, a contest which proved to be fourth loss of his current skid.

Tai Tuivasa Drops Seventh Bout in a Row in May

Most recently, Tai Tuivasa fought on the night of May 2 in UFC Perth. That weekend, he fought Louie Sutherland and came out on the wrong end of a unanimous decision to begin the evening's main card. Sutherland was a late replacement for Tuivasa's original opponent, Sean Sharaf, who had to withdraw from UFC Perth a week and a half before the show due to breaking his nose during training camp.

During the third round of the fight between Tuivasa and Sutherland, the former was deducted one point on the scorecards for landing a knee strike to a downed Sutherland. In the wake of his defeat, Tuivasa issued an apology to his fanbase via Instagram in a since-deleted post.

"I tried, I felt good," Tai Tuivasa wrote, "I put in the work, didn't get the result."

Viewers Railed Against Tai Tuivasa Following Teixeira Fight in UFC 325 This Past February

The May 2 setback was Tuivasa's second of the year in the UFC. In the aftermath of Tai Tuivasa's Feb. 1 defeat at the hands of Tallison Teixeira, MMA fans the world over became restless and wondered when the heavyweight would be dismissed from the company.

One viewer of UFC 325 took to X following the contest between Tai Tuivasa and Tallison Teixeira and had vicious words for the former, saying "Cut him immediately." In an expletive-laden post, the user expressed disdain over the fact that the bout was slotted on the Feb. 1 main card.

At the time, Tuivasa's losing streak had extended to six. He'll get an opportunity to win for the first time since February of 2022 on Saturday night versus Robelis Despaigne, a former Karate Combat Heavyweight Champion.

Clock About to Expire on Tai Tuivasa in UFC

In combat sports, a fighter is only as good as his last bout. For Tai Tuivasa, it's been north of four and a half years' time since he's gotten good news on fight night.

To find the last time that Tai Tuivasa got his hand raised in victory, you'd need to travel back to Feb. 12, 2022 during UFC 271 in Houston at Toyota Center. During that event, he finished Derrick Lewis by second-round knockout with an elbow shot.

Since then, it's been one setback after another for Tai Tuivasa and his camp. The moments where Tuivasa took a spectator's shoe to shotgun a beer out of it may seem like ancient history now.  Saturday's UFC 331 co-featured prelim versus Despaigne might be Tuivasa's last dance, and if he loses, the clock will strike midnight on his UFC tenure.