UFC 271 is right around the corner headlined by an awesome title fight between Robert Whittaker and Champion Israel Adesanya. Also featured on the card is a bout between Derek Brunson and Jared Cannonier. The Co main event on this killer card is a bout between Heavyweights, Derrick Lewis and the King of the shoeie Tai Tuivasa.
The first bout of note on the main card is between Derek Brunson and Jared Cannonier. Brunson is coming off a win against Darren Till in September of 2021. Brunson is riding a five fight win streak and is currently ranked fourth in the UFC Middleweight division. He will face number three ranked Jared Cannonier. Cannonier is coming off a win against Kelvin Gastelum who he beat via Unanimous Decision. Cannonier beat Gastelum after being out of the Octagon since October of 2020 after healing from an injury sustained in his loss to Robert Whittaker. He hopes to put an end to Blonde Brunson’s streak. It is expected that the winner might face the winner of Adesanya vs. Whittaker. This is one of the only times a title eliminator is on the same night as the title fight in that division.
The next bout of note is between Lewis and Tuivasa and honestly both are fan favorites so this fight will definitely sell PPV cards. Lewis is coming off a win against Chris Daukas during UFC Fight Night main event in December of last year. Lewis was coming off a loss going into that fight against Ciryl Gane. Lewis has a tough opponent in Tuivasa who is riding a three fight win streak.
In an interview with Espn Tuaviasa was quoted as saying in regards to accepting a fight with Lewis, “I was on the piss; I was blind [drunk], I didn’t notice until the next morning that [UFC matchmaker] Mick Maynard messaged me and I had messaged back. He messaged, ‘Are you awake,’ and I was like, ‘Yeah’; it was like 4:30 in the morning. And then I woke up to 20 missed calls from my manager, from my coach Sully [Shaun Sullivan] and s**t like that, so I was like, ‘Something must have happened.’” Tuivasa has a taste for beer and drinks it out of a show when he wins. Lewis is also known to do ridiculous stuff after his fights including throwing his cup into the audience after his fight with Daukas. It’ll be interesting to see who wins and who gets to do their odd celebrations.
The main event is truly a great fight between the two best Middleweights in the UFC. Adesanya will be making his fourth title defense against Whittaker who he won the Middleweight title against at UFC 243 in October of 2019 by Knockout. Adesanya has been absolutely unstoppable at Middleweight winning every contest he has ever fought at 185. His only loss in MMA came as a result of a move up to attempt to become a double champion by taking then Light Heavyweight Champion Jan Błachowicz’s title. Robert Whittaker has been on a three fight win streak since losing his title to Adesanya including victories over Darren Till, Jared Cannonier, and Kelvin Gastelum. Before losing to Adesanya, Whittaker was on an impressive nine fight win streak including wins over Derek Brunson, Ronaldo Souza, and Yoel Romero.
UFC 271 is a banger to be sure. Don’t forget to tune in as it will be a good time, with great fights, and some of the promotion’s best and most interesting fighters.
MMA Aficionado 