Jack Tuave is a professional MMA fighter most famous for his brutal first-round knockout of Alex ‘the God’ Simon last November, a man who many people thought was unstoppable.

Tuave puts it all on the line on Saturday, February 22, when he steps into the cage to fight in a 4-man tournament against Australasia’s best at Eternal 50 at the Auckland Sky City Convention Centre.

The winner of the tournament will become the Eternal MMA Heavyweight Champion.

Up against Tuave are three other heavy hitters, in the form of Damian Maru, Henri Burns, and Cody Brooks, all of whom have impressive fight resume’s in their own right. With the UFC in town for Felder vs Hooker the following day, these men will be looking to impress.

Tuave is 34 years old, fighting out of Fightcross North Lakes, Queensland, with a professional MMA record of 3-2 and a Muay Thai record of 2-0. He holds the Nitro Heavyweight belt and the Gladiators Heavyweight belt. He’s coming for that Eternal Heavyweight belt too!

Fight News’ Harry Greenfield caught up with Jack Tuave in his training camp leading up to the big night.

Hi Jack. I have to ask: how did it feel to KO Alex Simon in such swift fashion, did it go as you expected?

“It felt good and was a relief too to finally have the fight done with. We trained for it to last the distance, but we'll take the KO.”

Is that your favourite victory in your career so far, or is there one that was even sweeter?

“Yea it'll have to be, everyone expected the KO, but in his favour.”

Alex caught you with a hard punch before you clipped him and finished him off. Was his power what you expected it to be?

“Yeah, it was hard. I don't think it's Mike Tyson hard like what he's been compared to, though.

Who is your toughest fight in the upcoming Grand Prix tournament on Feb 22?

“I don't really know the other 3 fighters that much, so they'll all be a tough one.”

If you become the Eternal MMA Heavyweight Champion as you plan to, will you be gunning for a fight in the UFC in the near future?

“Yeah for sure, the world stage is definitely the goal and UFC's one of them.”

Do you have a day job? If so, what do you do?

“I've been in Warehousing for the last 17 years, gotta pay the bills haha.”

Thanks for taking the time, Jack.

You can follow Jack on his Instagram page: @jack_tuave. Tickets to Eternal 50 are available on the Eventbrite website.