Chael Sonnen compares Tai Tuivasa's KO of Derrick Lewis with Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz 1

Chael Sonnen recently offered his take on the UFC 271 co-main event bout between Tai Tuivasa and Derrick Lewis. He drew parallels between the heavyweight clash and Conor McGregor's first encounter with Nate Diaz.

The two superstars initially locked horns at UFC 196 in 2016. McGregor, who had a reputation for possessing devastating power and precision in his strikes, landed numerous blows on Diaz in their bout. Nevertheless, the latter managed to weather the storm and secure a submission in the second round against the Irishman.

Sonnen argued that something similar took place in Tuivasa's recent heavyweight clash against Lewis. 'Bam Bam' ate a number of devastating shots before landing some of his own to put 'The Black Beast' to sleep.

The former UFC title challenger asserted that Lewis' loss had a lot to do with the mental pressure of watching Tuivasa eat his best shot and keep charging forward. He said:

"[Conor McGregor] said, 'I hit [Nate Diaz] with shots that would put every other opponent down.' He didn't go down. Conor admitted that drained him, that sucked energy out. It's not physically more power, there's a mental side to preserving your cardio abilities as well. That gets a hole put right in the tank. As soon as you give your best to somebody and they take a step forward as opposed to falling backwards. That's what happened! [Derrick Lewis] unloaded [and Tai Tuivasa's] still standing there."

Check out Chael Sonnen's take on the UFC 271 co-main event:

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Tai Tuivasa believes he was not in danger while fighting Derrick Lewis

Tai Tuivasa stunned the MMA community by putting fellow knockout artist Derrick Lewis to sleep during their scrap at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas, this past weekend.

While in conversation with the media at the post-fight press conference, Tuivasa declared that he never felt he was in danger inside the octagon. However, he did admit that he felt the shots that the heavy-handed Lewis landed. 'Bam Bam' said:

"I got a few bumps on the head that's for sure, on the side here. I didn't feel I was in too much of a danger. But he's the knockout king. He's got heavy hands. He's a big boy. So I definitely felt him. But I was still in the game. So I was sweet."

Watch Tai Tuivasa at the UFC 271 post-fight press conference below:

Tai Tuivasa moved to No.3 in the heavyweight rankings following his win over Derrick Lewis at UFC 271. The Australian is now riding a five-fight win streak and is likely one or two wins away from a shot at gold.

It remains to be seen who he takes on next.