Brad Tavares

At 36 years old, Brad Tavares has this physical status:

Tavares excelled in high school athletics at Waiakea High School competing in football and in track and field. After high school, he worked as a ramp agent for Hawaiian Airlines. He was 19 when he first fought as a professional.

Mixed martial arts career

Tavares started his MMA career in 2007 in his home state of Hawaii, compiling a record of 5–0, with three technical knockouts and two submission wins. He originally started training with MMAD (Mixed Martial Arts Development) ran by the likes of Randy Leuder, Brandon Wolff (UFC), and Rob Hesia. He still returns home to Hawaii to train with HQ MMA when not training at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas.

In March 2010, Tavares was announced as part of the eleventh season of The Ultimate Fighter. In the elimination round, Tavares defeated Jordan Smith via KO (knee) after less than a minute. He was selected fifth by Team Liddell and tenth overall.

Tavares then defeated James Hammortree in the second preliminary fight. After two rounds, the fight was declared a draw and the fighters went to a third round. Tavares took control in the third round and was declared the winner, advancing him into the quarter finals.

In the quarter-finals, Tavares fought Seth Baczynski. As the first round ended, Baczynski threw an illegal soccer kick to the head of Tavares. Baczynski immediately apologized, knowing he could have seriously hurt Tavares, who went to his corner and slumped. After discussing the matter with the doctors, Herb Dean stopped the fight and Tavares was declared the winner by disqualification, advancing him to the semi-finals.

In the semi-finals, Tavares faced teammate Court McGee, for a place in the live final. After a fairly even first two rounds, Tavares was rocked late in the third. McGee then locked in a rear naked choke, handing Tavares his first loss.

At The Ultimate Fighter: Team Liddell vs. Team Ortiz Finale, Tavares had a rematch with Seth Baczynski. Tavares defeated Baczynski via unanimous decision.

Tavares next faced UFC veteran Phil Baroni on January 1, 2011, at UFC 125. He won the fight via KO in the first round.

Tavares faced Aaron Simpson on July 2, 2011, at UFC 132, replacing Jason Miller, who was removed from the card. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.

Tavares was expected to face Tim Credeur on October 29, 2011, at UFC 137. However, Creduer was forced out of the bout, and he was replaced by promotional newcomer Dustin Jacoby. Unfortunately, Tavares was pulled out of the newly made fight due to an injury, setting up a fight between Jacoby and fellow UFC newcomer Clifford Starks.

Tavares fought Yang Dongi on May 15, 2012, at UFC on Fuel TV: The Korean Zombie vs. Poirier. Tavares won a closely contested fight via unanimous decision (29–28, 29–28, 29–28).

Tavares next defeated former BAMMA middleweight champion and UFC newcomer Tom Watson via split decision on at UFC on Fuel TV: Struve vs. Miocic.

Tavares faced Riki Fukuda on March 3, 2013, at UFC on Fuel TV 8 and won via unanimous decision.

Tavares faced Robert McDaniel on August 28, 2013, at UFC Fight Night 27. He won the fight via unanimous decision.

Tavares faced Lorenz Larkin on January 15, 2014, at UFC Fight Night 35. He won the fight via unanimous decision.

Tavares faced Yoel Romero at UFC on Fox 11. He lost the fight via unanimous decision, ending his five-fight win streak.

Tavares next faced Tim Boetsch on August 16, 2014, at UFC Fight Night 47. He lost the fight via TKO in the second round, marking the first time Tavares had been stopped as a professional.

Tavares faced Nate Marquardt on January 3, 2015, at UFC 182. He won the fight by unanimous decision.

Tavares faced Robert Whittaker on May 10, 2015, at UFC Fight Night 65. He lost the fight via knockout in the first round.

Tavares was very briefly linked to a bout with Thales Leites on August 6, 2016, at UFC Fight Night 92. However, Tavares was forced out of the fight with a rib injury, and he was replaced by Chris Camozzi.

Tavares returned to face Caio Magalhães on September 10, 2016, at UFC 203. He was awarded a split decision victory.

Tavares was expected to face Héctor Lombard on January 28, 2017, at UFC on Fox 23. However, the bout was scrapped on January 10 due to undisclosed reasons.

Tavares faced Elias Theodorou on July 7, 2017, at The Ultimate Fighter 25 Finale. He won the fight by unanimous decision.

Tavares faced Thales Leites on October 7, 2017, at UFC 216. He won the fight by unanimous decision.

Tavares faced Krzysztof Jotko on April 14, 2018, at UFC on Fox 29. He won the fight via technical knockout in round three.

Tavares faced Israel Adesanya on July 6, 2018, at The Ultimate Fighter 27 Finale. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.

Tavares was expected to face Ian Heinisch on October 26, 2019, at UFC Fight Night 162 However, Heinisch withdrew from the bout, leading Tavares to replace Krzysztof Jotko against Edmen Shahbazyan at UFC 244 on November 2, 2019. He lost the fight via knockout in the first round.

Tavares was scheduled to face Antônio Carlos Júnior on March 14, 2020, at UFC Fight Night 170. However, Tavares was forced to pull out of the fight due to an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury. The bout with Antônio Carlos Júnior was rescheduled for on January 24, 2021 at UFC 257. Tavares won the fight via unanimous decision.

Tavares faced Omari Akhmedov on July 10, 2021, at UFC 264. He won the fight via split decision.

Tavares was scheduled to face Brendan Allen on December 4, 2021, at UFC on ESPN 31. He eventually pulled out in mid November and was replaced by Roman Dolidze.

Tavares next faced Dricus du Plessis at UFC 276 on July 2, 2022. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.

Tavares is scheduled to face Gregory Rodrigues on January 21, 2023, at UFC 283.

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