Tai Tuivasa opens up on tragic loss of friend who was shot dead for opening fire at cops
UFC heavyweight Tai Tuivasa has opened up on the tragic loss of his friend, who was shot dead by the police.
Speaking to The Daily Telegraph, Tuivasa spoke about losing his friend Daniel King just days before his UFC 243 bout against Serghei Spivac in 2019. King was 32 years old at the time and used to play for the Australian Rugby League team Penrith Panthers before his career was halted because of an injury.
Daniel King was suffering from mental health issues, and while under the influence of drugs, he shot at his girlfriend's house and then at a police station with a 12-gauge shotgun. This led to him being fired at by the police, who shot him 24 times.
Tai Tuivasa had this to say about the incident:
"My friend got [killed]yby the cops. It was a rough patch for me. He was going through his own struggles, he had some things on his plate and he wasn't in the right. You can't go and shoot at coppers and think they're not going to shoot you back. I think it was suicide by... whatever you call it."
While further speaking about his next fight at UFC 293, Tai Tuivasa said:
"This chapter of my life, I've watched a lot of people blow it away, so I'm taking my opportunity. I'm taking it with two hands and running like it's stolen. It ain't where you start, it's where you finish."
Who is Tai Tuivasa fighting at UFC 293?
Tuivasa will look to come back to the winning column as he is set to return to the octagon later this weekend at UFC 293 after suffering back-to-back defeats at the hands of Ciryl Gane and then Sergei Pavlovich last year. After two consecutive KO losses, he is set to lock horns against Alexander Volkov.
Alexander Volkov is undefeated in his last two fights inside the octagon, winning both via TKO. The momentum going into the fight seems to favor Volkov, as does the betting odds. The 34-year-old is a slight favorite (-180) going into his fight against Tai Tuivasa (+150), as per odds released by Betting Insider Journal.