Derrick Lewis vs Tai Tuivasa Set for UFC 271 Showdown in Houston

The Battle of the Fan Favourites – Derrick Lewis vs Tai Tuivasa

Derrick Lewis (26-8 MMA, 17-6 UFC) is coming off another underdog victory, having knocked out prospect Chris Daukaus in the last UFC event of 2021. The ‘Black Beast’ was on the verge of a title shot last year. Derrick Lewis fought Ciryl Gane in an interim heavyweight title fight for the opportunity to take on current UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou. Lewis could not get his shot, having fallen to a 3rd round TKO finish to interim champion Gane, but will be on the verge of a title fight with a win over Tuivasa. 

Tai Tuivasa (14-3 MMA, 7-3 UFC) has risen to the upper echelons of the heavyweight division and will now be looking to call out the victor of UFC 270 with a win over Lewis. The 28-year-old has doubled his fanbase with every win in the UFC due to his exciting style and hilarious personality. He’s now put together a four-fight win streak, all KO/TKOs, while also claiming a record amount of ‘shoeys’ in the process. His latest victory over Augusto Sakai at UFC 269 took him to #11 in the heavyweight rankings. 

Both fighters are coming off statement-making victories in December. Lewis even claimed a UFC record for most knockouts in the organization, with his 1st round finish of Daukaus taking him to 13. At the same time, the American will now get to take on a fellow fan favourite in front of his home crowd in Houston.

The chances of this heavyweight clash going the distance? Near impossible.

UFC 271 will be headlined by the rematch of middleweight rivals Israel Adesanya vs Robert Whittaker. The rest of the line-up is as follows:

UFC 271

• Middleweight title bout – Israel Adesanya vs Robert Whittaker
• Middleweight bout – Derek Brunson vs Jared Cannonier
• Bantamweight bout – Kyler Phillips vs Marcelo Rojo
• Women’s flyweight bout -Roxanne Modafferi vs Casey O’Neill
• Flyweight bout – Alex Perez vs Matt Schnell
• Lightweight bout – Mark Madsen vs Vinc Pichel
• Light heavyweight bout – Fabio Cherant vs. Carlos Ulberg
• Middleweight bout – Maxim Grishin vs Ed Herman
• Bantamweight bout – Ronnie Lawrence vs Mana Martinez
• Lightweight bout – Alexander Hernandez vs. Renato Moicano
• Lightweight bout – Nasrat Haqparast vs Bobby Green
• Middleweight bout – AJ Dobson vs. Jacob Malkoun
• Bantamweight bout -Douglas Silva de Andrade vs. Sergey Morozov
• Welterweight bout – Orion Cosce vs. Mike Mathetha

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