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This weekend sees UFC 271 go down in Houston, Texas. In the main event, Israel Adesanya defends his middleweight crown against former champion Robert Whittaker
All eyes will be on the main event at UFC 271, but the fight that may well steal the show is the co-headline bout between Tai Tuivasa and Derrick Lewis.
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These two knockout artists are set to face off in a key heavyweight clash. While the two men aren’t expected to throw any verbal barbs at one another in the lead-up to their fight, fireworks should ensue inside the octagon when they meet.
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Here are five reasons why Derrick Lewis vs. Tai Tuivasa will steal the show at UFC 271.
#5. Derrick Lewis holds the UFC’s record for the most knockouts
Very few fighters can claim to be must-see attractions every time they step into the octagon, but Derrick Lewis is definitely amongst them. Sure, ‘The Black Beast’ has come up short both times he’s fought for gold, but he does hold a significant record of his own.
Lewis has knocked out no fewer than 13 foes inside the octagon, more than any other fighter in the promotion’s history. When you consider the never-ending list of knockout artists who have graced the octagon over the years, that’s pretty impressive.
It isn’t like Lewis has been knocking out scrubs, either. Some of his victims count amongst the best UFC heavyweights of their generation, including the likes of Curtis Blaydes, Alexander Volkov and Aleksei Oleinik.
It’s true that ‘The Black Beast’ has had the odd stinker of a fight during his tenure with the promotion too. His clash with Francis Ngannou, for instance, was terrible, and nobody really enjoyed his wins over Blagoy Ivanov and Ilir Latifi either.
For the most part, though, whatever Lewis hits, he destroys. That makes it impossible to take your eyes off him when he’s fighting.
‘The Black Beast’ practically stole the show at one of the biggest events of all time, UFC 229, with his comeback win over Alexander Volkov. There’s every chance he can do the same against Tai Tuivasa this weekend.
#4. Tai Tuivasa is in the form of his life and is only improving with each bout
For as exciting as Derrick Lewis has been throughout his tenure with the UFC, it’s arguable that Tai Tuivasa has been just as much fun to watch. ‘Bam Bam’ is less proven than his opponent this weekend, but his highlight reel is very similar.
Tuivasa burst onto the scene back in 2017 with a crazy flying knee knockout over Rashad Coulter. He then went onto defeat Cyril Asker and Andrei Arlovski in exciting fashion.
Three losses in a row then derailed him and he looked outright awful on the ground against Sergey Spivak. However, since returning from a year away at the back end of 2020, he’s been on the best form of his career.
Tuivasa’s last four fights have all ended in a knockout victory, including a come-from-behind win over Greg Hardy that saw ‘Bam Bam’ almost finished himself before somehow knocking out the ‘Prince of War’.
Essentially, at 28 years old, it’s likely that Tuivasa hasn’t yet reached his physical prime. However, he’s probably approaching it now, something backed up by the apparent improvement he’s shown in the past two years.
Given how exciting he was prior to this improvement, it’s likely that he’ll remain one of the best fighters to watch in the heavyweight division overall. If he can produce his best against Lewis this weekend, he could well end up involved in a classic.
#3. UFC 271 isn’t the deepest card overall
Derrick Lewis vs. Tai Tuivasa looks like a fantastic bout on paper. Given the propensity of both men to produce brutal knockouts, it’d probably be a surefire Fight of the Night contender on any event.
However, it’s probably arguable that as part of the card for UFC 271, the chances of this heavyweight clash stealing the show are only likely to be magnified.
That’s because, despite this weekend’s event being a major pay-per-view, it isn’t actually the deepest card overall, outside of its epic main event clash between middleweight kingpin Israel Adesanya and former champ Robert Whittaker.
Sure, Derek Brunson vs. Jared Cannonier is a great fight that could produce the next title challenger at 185 pounds, but outside of that? Kyler Phillips and Marcelo Rojo are both coming off losses and Bobby Green and Nasrat Haqparast have a tendency to go the distance.
The preliminary card does feature some exciting fighters, names like Casey O’Neill, William Knight and Carlos Ulberg, for instance. However, for the most part, they’re against opponents who mean they’re more likely to win a bonus for Performance of the Night.
Tuivasa vs. Lewis, meanwhile, looks like a well-matched bout between two genuinely wild brawlers. On a card that isn’t the most stacked pay-per-view in UFC history, that could be enough for it to steal the show.
#2. Neither man is all that durable despite their ability to finish their opponents
It’s arguable that both Derrick Lewis and Tai Tuivasa are amongst the very best finishers in the UFC today, with a total of 19 finishes inside the octagon between them. Essentially, whatever they hit tends to be destroyed.
However, while battles between like-minded foes in the past have had a tendency to go the distance despite producing wild action, Justin Gaethje vs. Michael Chandler, for instance, or Diego Sanchez vs. Clay Guida, this one may be very different.
That’s because despite their crazy punching power and natural finishing abilities, neither ‘The Black Beast’ nor ‘Bam Bam’ are all that durable in their own right.
Lewis has suffered a total of six defeats inside the octagon and has been finished in all of those bouts. His ground game, particularly when he’s put on his back, is still lacking. He seems to get hurt badly in all of his fights, particularly when he takes shots to the body.
Tuivasa, meanwhile, has lost three bouts in the promotion and has been finished twice. Like Lewis, he appears to be a fish out of the water on the ground, as we saw in his losses to Junior dos Santos and Sergey Spivak. Judging by how he was stunned by Greg Hardy, he may not possess the best chin either.
Essentially, then, this is a battle of two glass cannons, meaning that the chances of the fight going the distance are remarkably slim. If they can exchange heavy blows before one of the two big men ends up being knocked out, it’s very likely that this clash will steal the show.
#1. Both men are cult favorites with UFC fans
UFC fans are often quite fickle, favoring fighters with star power over ones who might be more exciting to watch inside the octagon. Therefore, it’s unlikely that a fight that features two unknowns will be able to steal a show, regardless of how exciting it turns out to be.
However, Tai Tuivasa and Derrick Lewis not only possess plenty of star power, but they’ve also become genuine cult favorites with UFC fans, particularly those attending live events. That means this clash will almost certainly be highly anticipated.
Lewis has always possessed a rare type of charisma that attracts fans, largely because his skills on the microphone are even more unpredictable than his ability inside the octagon. Some of his post-fight interviews have entered into legend, particularly the one that saw him explain why he’d taken his shorts off in the octagon.
Tuivasa, meanwhile, is outspoken and comes across as more than a little crazy. His post-fight ‘shoey’ celebration, which sees him down a beer from inside a shoe, has made him into an instant star, as have his walkouts, which usually involve him singing along to a power ballad.
Fighters with this kind of charisma would probably have caught on with the fans even if they weren’t that exciting to watch. When you add in the knockout abilities of Lewis and Tuivasa, it’s easy to understand why they’ve become cult favorites.
With that considered, then, there’s a chance that this fight might even steal the show this weekend before the first punch is thrown. Regardless of who wins, the chances of their post-fight interview stealing the show is probably even higher.
