Australian heavyweight Tai Tuivasa has continued his impressive rise in the UFC after knocking out American Derrick Lewis in stunning fashion at UFC 271.
In the co-main event of the night, Tuivasa (14-3) knocked out the third-ranked heavyweight Lewis (26-7) in the second round, despite coming into the fight as the rank underdog.
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Tuivasa, who has won five straight fights by knockout, recovered from a first round which saw him taken to the mat twice.
The Western Sydney native came out hard in the second round, landing punches on Lewis and backing him up to the cage before landing a right elbow to the left side of his face, knocking out Lewis, who fell face-first onto the mat.
“That’s the king of knockouts,” Tuivasa said after the win in the UFC. “But like I said, I’m young and up and coming, and I’m taking over now.”
The 28-year-old Tuivasa has become a cult hero both for those back home and around the UFC world, namely for his pre and post-fight antics.
He walked out to the octagon today to the tune of Cyndi Lauper’s iconic 1983 hit song ‘Girls Just Want To Have Fun’.
And as he did following his knockout win against Augusto Sakai late last year, Tuivasa again celebrated with a ‘shoey’ by pouring beer into a shoe and skulling it as fans watched on.
His victory was to the delight of UFC fans and fighters, who all took to social media to laud the Australian and the entertainment he adds.
https://twitter.com/alexvolkanovski/status/1492727689710825479https://twitter.com/CrosbyMaxx/status/1492725898713255936https://twitter.com/arielhelwani/status/1492725962336780288https://twitter.com/bryan_barberena/status/1492725776357154816https://twitter.com/SharpFootball/status/1492725594597072896https://twitter.com/marc_raimondi/status/1492721177013325827
– with AP