Tai Tuivasa asked if he is still in the UFC: "Nah. @kfc!"
The Australian heavyweight joked with a fan after his eighth straight defeat, but his own post says "back to work" and there is no word of a release.
Tai Tuivasa has joked that he has swapped the UFC for KFC, two weeks after an eighth straight defeat.
Under his Instagram post on Friday, a fan asked: "Are you still in the UFC?" Tuivasa replied: "Nah. @kfc!", tagging the fried chicken chain. The reply had more than 2,000 likes by Saturday.
It is a joke rather than an announcement. The same post, about his split-decision defeat to Robelis Despaigne at UFC 331 on 19 September, ends with "Back to work", and his Instagram bio still tags the UFC. Neither the UFC nor Tuivasa has said he has been released.
"Had a crack no good," Tuivasa wrote. "Sorry all my peoples I fell short again. Thank you Jesus for all my blessings. Been chilling with my family and I'm way too blessed to be stressed." He thanked his team and American Top Team, adding: "We put in the work and I didn't get the job done. Back to work."
The defeat to Despaigne left Tuivasa at 14-11 and equalled Tony Ferguson's record for the longest losing streak in UFC history. His last win was his knockout of Derrick Lewis in February 2022. The UFC 331 results have the full card.
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