Athletes
Brad Tavares: Keeps It Going
Middleweight Veteran Brad Tavares Has Plenty Of Fight Left In Him As He Prepares To Face Gregory Rodrigues At UFC Fight Night: Hermansson vs Pyfer.
Despite being in the UFC for over 13 years, Brad Tavares still experiences new things on fight week.
Take his UFC 292 bout last year with Chris Weidman, for example. The two longtime middleweights crossed paths ahead of their fight and ended up spending quite a bit of time together.
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That was a different experience for Tavares, not that he’s uninterested in being friendly or toward an opponent, but trading stories, meeting family and friends, and hanging out before meeting in the Octagon? That hasn’t happened before.
“It was a first for me,” Tavares told UFC.com. “I’ve never really spent so much time like that with my opponent.”
After the fight, Tavares reached out to Weidman wanting to find out how the leg he injured during the fight was doing. Moments like that are just a testament to the character of Tavares, and how his time around mixed martial arts at the highest level has shaped him. He’s a guy who has fought everyone, respects everyone and deserves that respect to be reciprocated.
Since joining the UFC in 2010, Tavares has fought the best of the best from multiple waves of middleweight champs and contenders.
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Tavares has stepped in the Octagon with: Yoel Romero, Tim Boetsch, Nate Marquardt, Robert Whittaker, Israel Adesanya, Bruno Silva, Weidman, and newly crowned middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis.
The 36-year-old Hawaiian has been able to maintain his spot as one of the best middleweights in the world by being smart in his training and never overlooking the importance of taking care of his body and mind.
And he’s looking to build off the momentum of his win over Weidman this weekend when he faces Gregory Rodrigues at UFC Fight Night: Hermansson vs Pyfer. Tavares and Rodrigues were originally scheduled to fight at UFC 283 in Brazil to kickoff 2023, but an injury forced Tavares to withdraw from the bout. Getting this one back on the books was important to Tavares, and he’s excited that he’ll be able to test himself against “Robocop” this weekend.
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“You feel a little bad when the fight doesn’t happen and it’s on your end, for whatever reason,” Tavares said. “I know that was a fight he probably prepared really hard for, and I prepared really hard for. So, for us to be able to run it back, we can settle the score.
“He’s obviously here for a reason. He’s fought and beaten some tough guys in good fashion. He’s a really tough, big guy who I think has power and a really good jiu jitsu game from what I understand. I just see him as a game opponent.”
Beating Rodrigues in emphatic fashion is just the type of win that could get Tavares back to fighting in the middleweight rankings – the place where he spent the better majority of his UFC career. Tavares knows how valuable stacking wins together is and how quickly the path to big fights can come together. All he needs to do is trust his preparation and tap into his bulletproof mindset and the rest will take care of itself.
“I just think I’m the more dominant fighter. I think I’m better,” Tavares said. “I’m not being cocky about it, that’s just the belief I have in myself, the belief I have in my team, and the belief I have in my preparation. I’m going to go out there and be victorious.”
When Tavares makes the walk to the Octagon at the UFC APEX this weekend, he will tie former champion Michael Bisping for the most fights in UFC middleweight history. With a win over Rodrigues, he’ll also tie Bisping for the most wins in UFC middleweight history.
Although those are some pretty incredible feats, Tavares has never been focused on setting records. He’s just dialed in on doing what he loves. When that’s all finished, he’ll start thinking about his legacy and what he accomplished during his time in the UFC.
“That’s something I haven’t really given too much thought about. When I do it, it will feel really good to put my name in the history book a bit,” Tavares said. “I’ve been at this a long time. Michael Bisping, I always wanted to fight the dude but when he retired, I wished him the best and he’s one of those guys I really respected. To be up there in the record books with him that is awesome.”
So best case scenario for this weekend is that Tavares leaves Las Vegas tied atop the record books with Bisping and, most importantly, on a two-fight winning streak.
“Keep it going,” Tavares said. “I hate losing so it’s great to be back in the win column and I definitely want to stay there. That’s always the plan, so I just got to keep the train rolling.”
