Aussie UFC star Tai Tuivasa opens up on losing mate who was shot to death by cops after opening fire on a police station and being hit with 24 bullets

Western Sydney heavyweight Tai ‘Bam Bam’ Tuivasa has opened up about the devastating loss of a partner who was killed by police after he opened fire at a police station.

Just days before his loss to Sergei Spivak at UFC 243 in Melbourne in 2019, Tuivasa’s boyfriend, Daniel King, was killed by police in a shootout outside Penrith police station.

A fitness fanatic who played for Penrith Panthers before his career was blighted by injury, King suffered from serious mental health issues and was under the influence of drugs when he shot at his girlfriend’s house before firing at the police station with a gun. caliber shotgun.

The 32-year-old was shot 24 times by police, who then tried to save his life.

One police officer was taken to hospital in stable condition after a shotgun bullet hit the back of his head, but no one else was seriously injured.

Tuivasa fought just days after the violent incident at UFC 243 in Melbourne

Tuivasa was devastated by the violent incident and has spoken out about the impact it had on him.

“My friend was killed by the police,” he said News Corp. “It was a difficult period for me.

“I’ve lost a lot of people I looked up to because they lost their mental strength, drugs and whatever. I saw a friend get shot.

“He was going through his own struggles, he had some things on his plate and he was wrong.

“You can’t shoot at cops and think they won’t shoot you back. I think it was suicide by… whatever you call it.

“But he was in a group of my older people and they’re all a little off track.”

Tuivasa went through a dark period after the loss of Spivak and the death of his friend.

However, he has since returned to the sport and has become one of the most popular fighters in the entire promotion.

Tuivasa admitted that his late friend was “going off the rails” and struggling with life

Next weekend at UFC 293 in Sydney, Tuivasa will take on Alex Volkov and try to end his two-fight skid.

“It’s been hard, but we’re getting through it,” he said. “I’m from West Sydney, we’re resilient, we’re made up of different things.

“I’ve had two losses, so this is my only thought at the moment: just moving forward.

“I’m having a fight at home too, so I have to do something big.”

The KO king is happy to be back competing on home soil and is in a very different situation from where he was in 2019 when he lost his friend.

“This chapter of my life I’ve seen blown away by many people, so I’m taking my chance,” he said.

“I grab it with both hands and run like it’s been stolen.

“It’s not about where you start, but where you end.”