Australia's Tai Tuivasa is set to return to the octagon as part of the co-main event at UFC Orlando in December.
Tuivasa will fight Sergei Pavlovich in the co-headline fight at the UFC Fight Night 209, which will take place at the Amway Centre on December 3, according to MMA Junkie's Farah Hannoun.
The bout will reportedly be the main event alongside the welterweight fight between Stephen Thompson and Kevin Holland.
Tuivasa was on a five-fight win streak before he was beaten by Ciryl Gane at UFC Paris in September, despite being the first to knock down the Frenchman.
A heavyweight matchup between Tai Tuivasa and Sergei Pavlovich is headed to #UFCOrlando, per multiple sources. The bout is expected to serve as the co-main event. Story coming to @MMAJunkie
— Farah Hannoun (@Farah_Hannoun) October 11, 2022
The latest projected lineup for UFC Orlando includes:
- Stephen Thompson vs. Kevin Holland
- Tai Tuivasa vs. Sergei Pavlovich
- Derek Brunson vs. Jack Hermansson
- Tracy Cortez vs. Amanda Ribas
- Darren Elkins vs. Jonathan Pearce
- Matheus Nicolau vs. Matt Schnell
- Eryk Anders vs. Kyle Daukaus
- Marc Diakiese vs. Michael Johnson
- Clay Guida vs. Scott Holtzman
- Emily Ducote vs. Angela Hill
- Bryan Barberena vs. Rafael dos Anjos
- Yazmin Jauregui vs. Istela Nunes
In Tuivasa's last fight at UFC Paris, Gane put on a show in front of his raucous home crowd in the company’s first ever event in the country.
Barring a wild moment in the second round in which Tuivasa’s trademark power sat Gane on his backside, it was a striking clinic from the number one contender.
Tuivasa’s mid-section took an absolute beating as Gane landed kick after kick to slow “Bam Bam” down.
Tuivasa looked like he might be folded several times but fought on bravely and even threatened to pull off an unlikely victory after catching Gane with a right hand in the second round.
As Tuivasa’s gas tank continued to fade in the third, Gane found the target with a right hand which wobbled the Aussie and some follow-up shots closed the show.
