Tai Tuivasa finally made his return for his fight of the year as he took on Russian star Alexander Volkov. The latter came into the fight as the favorite to win, and as such, won the fight via submission. The fans have shared their reactions to the result on social media.
Tai Tuivasa suffered consecutive losses in his last two fights. However, Alexander Volkov came to UFC 293 with two wins in a row. So the pressure was ‘BAM BAM’ to earn a victory in front of his home crowd, given that he had a five-fight winning streak before losing two in a row. All of those wins came via knockouts. And he was hoping for the same result in this fight.
Alexander Volkov submits Tai Tuivasa
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The fight started off with jabs and kicks from both fighters. Tai Tuivasa busted his nose in the opening round after a jab from Alexander Volkov. Moreover, a right dropped ‘BAM BAM’ in the final minute of the first round, but he was able to recover from that predicament. However, he was left bloodied after a flurry of punches at the end of the first round.
VOLKOV BY SUBMISSION!!😱@AlexDragoVolkov ends this one with an ezekiel choke in the second round! #UFC293 pic.twitter.com/orIobGqDej
— UFC (@ufc) September 10, 2023
When the second round kicked off, both fighters went full out with punches and kicks. Volkov was using his long-range striking skills pretty well and was not giving Tuivasa much of a window to land a knockout strike. However, a right hand from the Russian dropped ‘BAM BAM’ onto the canvas, but he recovered from that as well.
Both fighters were relentless as they were continuing to throw strikes at each other. But later Volkov got Tai Tuivasa down and was looking to secure a submission. He continued his ground and pound on the Australian and got him to tap out on an Ezekiel choke. Let’s see what the fans had to say.
Fans react to Tuivasa’s loss
The fans shared mixed reactions to Tuivasa’s third loss in a row. They were looking to see a ‘shoey’ celebration from ‘BAM BAM’.
Really wanted to see a shoey 😕
— UNITED DRE (@MANUTDRE) September 10, 2023
On the other hand, some fans claim that Volkov’s win over Tuivasa meant Russian fighters were better than Australian fighters.
russia own australia
— KSI Fandom (@JJtheGoatKSIfan) September 10, 2023
They also praised ‘Drago’ for his impressive performance.
Nice win for Volkov, good dude.
— Thyrone Cameron 🏆🥇🎯 (@GetMeCash) September 10, 2023
The fans also stated that it was a total dominance from the Russian fighter.
That was a total beat down. Great win for Volkov .
— Soulhighman (@sulaimonidowuu) September 10, 2023
One fan mentioned how the crowd went silent after ‘BAM BAM’s loss.
Never heard a crowd so silent after a win
— Rosin (@Rosinn) September 10, 2023
However, they praised both fighters for putting on a great fight.
Good match by both!
— TrendHawk.io (@TrendHawkAI) September 10, 2023
One fan was surprised by the rare submission move, the Ezekiel choke.
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Unlucky Tai..
Nice choke out Volkov..Sydney hates what just happened👊
— The Trend Trader (@SixG369) September 10, 2023
Moreover, the fans believe that Tai Tuivasa was unlucky and appreciated the submission move from Volkov.
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We will have to wait and see what’s next for Tai Tuivasa with three losses in a row. On the other hand, Alexander Volkov registered his third finish in a row. We can safely say that the Russian fighter is getting towards title contention, but things have only gone downhill for the Australian knockout artist.
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