Victorious UFC Perth heavyweight reluctantly admits corner advice led to win

All Louie Sutherland had to do was listen to his team.

Sutherland took on heavyweight veteran Tai Tuivasa in hostile territory at UFC Perth on Saturday. “The Vanilla Gorilla” outgrappled Tuivasa for three rounds amidst a sea of boos to earn a unanimous decision win. The Englishman revealed that his victory over Tuivasa was the first time that he paid heed to his corner mid-fight in quite some time.

The bulky Brit Sutherland stated that he lost his composure and ignored his training partners in his recent last knockout loss to Brando Pericic. While Sutherland knows that he can brawl when he wants to, it was crucial to earn his first Ultimate Fighting Championship victory. Sutherland admitted in his post-fight interview:

“It’s the first time I’ve listened to my coaches is probably about six fights,” Sutherland said sheepishly. “And that’s the result. Against Brando, I lost my composure, didn’t listen to the corner. My corner’s like, ‘Look, we know you can brawl, you’re an MMA fighter, in the gym day in day out.’ I can do it all. It’s just taken me 16 pro fights to show it. Who doesn’t like a knockout or a finish at least? But I was here to get the win, get my money, go home, feed the kids.”

Sutherland (11-5) made his UFC debut on short notice last year against Valter Walker, who tapped him out with a heel hook. Sutherland’s subsequent outing came against the aforementioned Pericic, which didn’t go his way either. Meanwhile, Tuivasa (14-10) is now on a seven-fight losing streak, one shy of the company record held by Tony Ferguson. Nevertheless, Tuivasa has claimed he plans to fight on, regardless of if he remains on the roster or not.