HOUSTON – Tai Tuivasa and Derrick Lewis made good on their promise to deliver a slugfest, but ultimately it was the Australian who delivered the highlight-reel finish.
The heavyweight bout was the co-main event of Saturday’s UFC 271 at Toyota Center and aired live on pay-per-view.
The two men set up in the center early and gave a respectful amount of distance to start the contest. As each felt out the range, Tuivasa offered a few early low kicks before pressing inside and driving the action to the cage. Lewis wrapped the arms as he defended against the fence, trying to stall the action. Tuivasa was able to land a few knees inside, but referee Dan Miragliotta brought them back to the center on a restart with the action stalled.
Lewis started the reset with a high kick and then a flying knee before unleashing a massive punch over the top. He then drove inside and briefly looked for a single-leg, though Tuivasa was able to remain upright. Lewis continued to work from the clinch and was eventually able to land a trip takedown, scoring with some ground-and-pound before Tuivasa worked to stand. Lewis landed several big right hands in the following sequence, but Tuivasa was able to absorb them and move to his feet.
In the final minute, Lewis muscled through another takedown and landed a few short elbows inside, but a gritty Tuivasa once again worked back to his feet, and the tension-filled round ended in the clinch.
In the second, Tuivasa opened with a low kick, but Lewis answered with a series of massive punches that landed clean. Tuivasa survived the barrage and then defended a takedown before the two men just started unleashing bombs in the pocket. Both men landed, but it was Lewis who staggered first. Tuivasa seized the opportunity and went for broke, ripping off punches in close quarters. They found their mark, including a sneaky elbow inside that touched the chin and sent Lewis crashing face-first to the canvas, ending the slugfest at the 1:40 mark of the second frame.
With the win, Tuivasa (15-3 MMA, 8-3 UFC) now boasts a five-fight winning streak, with all five wins coming by knockout. Lewis (26-9 MMA, 17-7 UFC) falls to 1-2 in his past three bouts, with both losses coming in his native Houston.
Up-to-the-minute UFC 271 results include:
- Jared Cannonier def. Derek Brunson via TKO (elbows) – Round 2, 4:29
- Renato Moicano def. Alexander Hernandez via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 1:23
- Bobby Green def. Nasrat Haqparast via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Andrei Arlovski def. Jared Vanderaa via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Casey O’Neill def. Roxanne Modafferi via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Kyler Phillips def. Marcelo Rojo via submission (armbar) – Round 3, 1:48
- Carlos Ulberg def. Fabio Cherant via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Ronnie Lawrence def. Mana Martinez via unanimous decision (29-27, 29-27, 29-28)
- Jacob Malkoun def. AJ Dobson via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Douglas Silva de Andrade def. Sergey Morozov via technical submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 3:34
- Jeremiah Wells def. Blood Diamond via technical submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 4:38
- Maxim Grishin def. William Knight via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
