It's not very often that we get some movement in the heavyweight rankings as the division moves so slowly. Whenever it does happen, it is notable and that's what we have here as a result of Tai Tuivasa defeating Augusto Sakai at UFC 269 a couple of weeks ago. This fight was two guys going in opposite directions, which isn't the UFC's typical way of making fights, but like I said, heavyweight moves so slowly that they don't have a choice at times. Tuivasa was the guy with the momentum coming in and he kept that rolling with yet another knockout victory. Sakai unfortunately continues to slide as he is finished for the third time in a row.
It's hard not to feel good for Tai Tuivasa because he is as well liked as anyone in MMA. Both his style and personality lend him to being a fan favorite. Tuivasa's career has been one of streaks and this is his best winning streak. He started his UFC career 3-0 before losing his next 3. Since that 3 fight losing streak, he's won 4 in a row, all by knockout, with the longest fight lasting 26 seconds into the second round. When it comes to this win over Augusto Sakai, I was especially impressed with Tuivasa's performance. We all know Tuivasa has power and isn't afraid to trade in order to land his own shots, but this was the best we've seen Tuivasa as an actual fighter in my estimation. He was still ready to unload at a moments notice, but he was much more patient and measured than we've seen him at times in the past. This new refined version of Tuivasa can potentially make some noise in the heavyweight division if he can continue what he showed in this fight. With Tuivasa being new to the rankings after this win, there's really no shortage of potential matchups for him going forward. The only fighter in the rankings that he's fought before other than Sakai is Blagoy Ivanov, so there's plenty of fresh faces both for him and a stagnant heavyweight top 15. I always say that the UFC tries to pair fighters trending in the same direction because it's an important factor when trying to determine who is actually a realistic option since we know the UFC really cares about that. When it comes to the heavyweight division, the only fighters in the rankings coming off a win are Sergei Pavlovich (who we haven't seen since 2019), Tom Aspinall (booked for March), Alexander Volkov, Curtis Blaydes, Derrick Lewis, Cyril Gane, and Francis Ngannou. Clearly, getting someone ranked and also coming off a win is going to be a tough task for him. He's likely going to have to jump way up in the rankings because other than Pavlovich, the lowest ranked of those fighters is Volkov at 5. I suppose that's a potential opponent for him as the UFC doesn't seem to mind using Volkov as a sort of gatekeeper for the top 5. I would be lying if I said I didn't want to see Tuivasa vs Derrick Lewis just for the pure violence factor for as long as that fight would last. I think a potentially more likely option is that Tuivasa gets someone coming off a loss who is closer to him in the rankings. I think this opens up fights against Walt Harris and Marcin Tybura. These fights make a little more sense to me when it comes to level of opponent. I think a Walt Harris matchup would be a good fight to gage where both of these men are at in their careers. Tuivasa is new blood in the heavyweight rankings that was so desperately needed and there's not shortage of options for him. I look forward to seeing who he gets next and how far he can take this current run.
Augusto Sakai on the other hand is in the midst of a rough patch. He started his UFC career 4-0 with wins over Chase Sherman, Andrei Arlovski, Marcin Tybura, and Blagoy Ivanov. He got a big step up in competition after that and lost to both Alistair Overeem and Jairzinho Rozenstruik via TKO. They gave him a small step down in Tuivasa and he suffered another devastating knockout. Sakai was having success against Overeem for stretches of that fight, but Overeem used his wrestling late and landed vicious ground and pound to get the finish. Sakai just hasn't really looked the same since that for me. He was knocked out with 1 second left in the first round against Rozenstruik and then knocked out cold by Tuivasa in opening 30 seconds of the 2nd round in that fight. I said this yesterday about Pedro Munhoz, but Sakai is just being noticeably out struck in his last couple of fights. He only landed 3 strikes against Rozenstruik and then 21 in a little over a round against Tuivasa. Obviously, activity levels at heavyweight will be lower than at the lighter weights, but I think he has to get back to the activity levels he showed in most of his wins. I think Sakai needs someone who is also a little down on their luck just so the momentum going into the fight evens out. I know I just listed him as a possibility for Tuivasa, but I think a matchup with Walt Harris would serve both men well. That gives them both a chance against someone else who is in a similar position. I also think it's possible that we see Sakai against someone outside of the rankings. Someone like Sergei Spivac or Alexander Romanov could be options as well. I think Sakai needs to take some time off to reset. He's been finished 3 fights in a row and I think a nice break to potentially heal up and give the body an extended layoff would serve him well. Whenever we do see Sakai return, I don't expect it to be a particularly sexy fight due to his slide. Sakai is still young and has plenty of time to turn it around, but if he's going to, he's going to have to pick up a win sometime in the near future.
What do you guys think? What is your opinion of the fight? Who should Tai Tuivasa get next? Can he get himself into the top 5? Where does Augusto Sakai go from here? Should he get an unranked opponent next? Leave any and all thoughts in the comments. Thanks for reading and have a good one.
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