Tavares started his MMA career in 2008 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 ran by the likes of Randy Leuder, Brandon Wolff, 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 season of The Ultimate Fighter. In the elimination round, Tavares defeated Jordan Smith via KO 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.
Ultimate Fighting Championship
At, 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 replaced by promotional newcomer Dustin Jacoby. Unfortunately, Tavares was pulled out of the newly made fight due to injury, setting up a fight between Jacoby and fellow UFC newcomer Clifford Starks. Tavares fought Dongi Yang on May 15, 2012 at. Tavares won a closely contested fight via unanimous decision. Tavares next defeated former BAMMA middleweight champion and UFC newcomer Tom Watson via split decision on at. 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 he 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 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 Hector 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. 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 knock out on round three. Tavares faced Israel Adesanya on July 6, 2018 at. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Tavares was expected to face Ian Heinisch on October 26, 2019 at UFC on ESPN+ 20 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 injury.
