UFC 271 went down final evening (Sat., Feb. 12, 2022) from inside Toyota Heart in Houston, Texas that includes a headlining bout that noticed Israel Adesanya maintain on to his Middleweight title after edging out Robert Whittaker after 25 minutes of motion to earn the unanimous choice win (highlights). Within the co-main occasion, Tai Tuivasa earned a spotlight reel knockout win after flattening Derrick Lewis in spherical quantity two through vicious elbows (recap here).
Largest Winner: Israel Adesanya
Adesanya retained his 185-pound title after a masterful efficiency towards Whittaker, maybe placing the ultimate nail within the coffin of their rivalry by going up 2-0. It was an emphatic victory for “The Final Stylebender,” who made good on the primary combat of his recently-inked monster contract. Adesanya strikes to an ideal 22-0 as a Middleweight and additional cements his standing as one of many, if not the largest star on the UFC roster in the intervening time. Whereas Francis Ngannou and Kamaru Usman are additionally bullying their respective divisions, Adesanya merely has that “it” issue that pulls folks in. Issues are solely trying up for the Nigerian-born fighter, who now has 4 title defenses on his ever-improving resume. Moreover, if he can rack up three extra consecutive wins, he’ll break Anderson Silva’s file for longest win streak within the division with 12 straight.
Runner (s) Up: Tai Tuivasa and Jared Cannonier
Tai Tuivasa surprised the Houston crowd by knocking out one among their very own, face-planting Lewis in spherical two in what was intense brawl between a few probably the most beloved Heavyweights within the sport as we speak. With 5 straight knockout wins on his resume, Tuivasa can anticipate an enormous bump within the rankings come subsequent week, and a giant combat that may include it. His win additionally upped his inventory as a fan and firm favourite, so issues are trying up for the hard-hitting, shoey-drinking massive man who appears to get higher after each combat.
Jared Cannonier cemented his standing as the following title contender at 185 kilos after ending Derek Brunson’s five-fight win streak due to a devastating knockout. Cannonier improves to 5-1 over his final six fights, and he additionally received a shout out from Adesanya throughout “The Final Stylebender’s” victory speech, in order that title combat is all however signed. “Killa Gorilla” has all the time been as sport as they arrive all through profession that has seen him combat in three divisions, and now he’ll quickly have the possibility to earn his first-ever UFC title towards the most effective within the sport as we speak.
Largest Loser: Derrick Lewis
One other combat in entrance of his hometown crowd, one other loss for “Black Beast.” The hard-hitting knockout king of the UFC Heavyweight division was getting the very best of “Bam Bam” early on within the placing division, however the Aussie hung powerful and went blow-for-blow towards one of the highly effective punchers within the historical past of the game. He finally knocked him out with nasty standing elbows. Lewis is now 1-2 in his final three fights, shedding each through strikes. Up to now, “Black Beast” has taken defeats properly, and has managed to bounce again with a vengeance, so it is going to be very attention-grabbing to see how he shakes off the cobwebs following his newest setback. He’s and all the time shall be a fan-favorite and Dana White was singing his praises in the course of the post-fight presser (see it here), so Lewis’ inventory with the promotion didn’t take an excessive amount of of successful following the crushing defeat.
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