After 12 years, UFC fighter Brad Tavares still feels the thrill

LAS VEGAS >> Twelve years after his debut on the Ultimate Fighter season 11 finale show, Brad Tavares is still having fun.

The 34-year-old Waiakea High alumnus, who lives and trains in Las Vegas, is looking to make another run at middleweight, with Dricus Du Plessis next on the list in a prelim at UFC 276 at T-Mobile Arena on Saturday.

Tavares (19-6, 14-6 UFC), who led a UFC card against current middleweight champion Israel Adesanya in 2018, did not fight for a full year following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The extra time out after back-to-back losses has allowed Tavares to return to the UFC rankings at No. 12 at 185 pounds with decision wins over Antonio Carlos Junior and Omari Akhmedov.

“I think it’s very funny,” Tavares said at UFC Media Day at the Apex Center on Wednesday. “That’s why I came up with it. i love to fight I definitely can’t tell you, ‘Oh yeah, I’ve been doing this for so long, it’s just whatever.’ I’m not deaf to it. It still feels like I’m fighting.”

Tavares’ 21st appearance in the Octagon is against relative newcomer Du Plessis (16-2, 2-0), who has fought 18 times professionally but only twice in the UFC.

His two UFC wins have come from knockouts in the first two rounds.

“A tough guy, and I think he’s actually different from a lot of other guys out there,” Tavares said. “His style is a bit different. Very unorthodox in the way he does things. I think he’s very strong, very brave, and I think that’s what he brings to the table – he’s a little bit different from everyone else.”

Du Plessis has impressed in his first two UFC fights, but Tavares presents a much tougher challenge.

Tavares had two winning streaks of at least four fights during his 12-year tenure with the UFC. Alongside Adesanya, who is defending his 185-pound title in Saturday’s main event against Jared Cannonier, Tavares has battled former champion Robert Whittaker and former title challenger Yoel Romero.

The key to his longevity, Tavares says, is his hunger to develop his game.

“I think what happens with a lot of guys that have been around a long time is one thing, they get comfortable and they get complacent,” Tavares said. “They think they’ve made it, they’re here, they don’t need to keep learning and growing and evolving, and that’s not true at all.

“There are younger, hungry guys who are doing different things that were doing it from a young age because that’s the way the sport is now and you have to develop your game so you can constantly compete and I think that’s what You see They see.”

The South African Du Plessis is a dangerous kickboxer.

Due to a shoulder injury and multiple fight cancellations, he has not fought in 12 months.

“I’m fighting world No. 12 right now, so we’re good,” Du Plessis said on Wednesday. “Everything will work as it should, as it always works and the stars are aligned once again and here I am, international fight week, yes we’ve been delayed a little… and this is going to be massive. This is the biggest card of the year.”

Du Plessis had nothing but praise for Tavares on Wednesday.

“They’re really doing me a disservice by getting (an opponent) in the top 50,” Du Plessis said. “He was always a game. He always comes to fight. You won’t see this guy gassed in a fight because he didn’t prepare.”

The fight opens a four-fight preliminary round, which will be broadcast on KITV from 2:00 p.m

Saturday’s pay-per-view, co-headlining Max Holloway challenging Alexander Volkanovski for the UFC Featherweight Title, begins at 4 p.m