Australian heavyweight Tai Tuivasa celebrated his UFC 269 knockout triumph over Augusto Sakai by drinking from a beer-filled shoe.
‘Stone Cold’ approved the technique by @bambamtuivasa 💯 #UFC269
(via @steveaustinBSR h/t @arielhelwani) pic.twitter.com/ESnT2GbxmZ
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) December 12, 2021
Tuivasa was awarded his fourth consecutive win after knocking his opponent to the ground in the second round of their fight.
To celebrate, the Australian fighter climbed up onto the side of the cage before sinking a ‘shoey’ – his notorious post-fight celebration.
Tuivasa, who hails from Syndey, Australia, has become known for this unconventional ritual after every win; grabbing a can of beer and a fan’s shoe and downing the beverage straight after a win.
The UFC heavyweight caught both the shoe and beer from social media star Steve ‘stevewilldoit’ Deleonardis, who used the post-fight celebration as a marketing opportunity for his ‘Happy Dad’ hard seltzer.
Tuivasa had his signature ‘shoey’ after knocking out no. 11 ranked Sakai within 26 seconds of the fight’s second round.
Tuivasa admitted he has lost count of how many ‘shoeys’ he has done in his time, speaking to The Sun in the build up to the fight.
He said: “I don’t know. How many times has a priest been to church? It’ll be up there with one of them.”
He added that the trick is to never use his own shoe, which would be “silly”.
Tuivasa might not be picky about the beer he’s drinking – or the vessel he is drinking it from – but for those who are, we have the perfect round-up of Christmas beers for you. Beer fans can be awfully picky when it comes to selecting a Christmas haul, so we decided to take the sting out of trawling through and have made a list of some of our favourites over here at db. Going for a range of styles to suit a fair few refreshment occasions, with simple discernment being at the heart of the criteria. Here’s the list and it makes for thirsty reading.