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Derrick Lewis will square off against fellow heavyweight contender Tai Tuivasa in the co-main event of UFC 271 at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas, on February 12, 2022.
The card will be headlined by a UFC middleweight championship rematch between current titleholder Israel Adesanya and No.1 contender Robert Whittaker.
Lewis is ranked No.3 in the UFC 265-pound weight class, while Tuivasa is No.11. Both are coming off dominant knockout victories over ranked opponents in December 2021.
"A co-main event barnburner is slated for #UFC271 [fire emoji]. @TheBeast_UFC (Lewis) vs. @BamBamTuivasa [Tuivasa] [ February 12 | @ToyotaCenter | Tickets [link emoji] https://www.toyotacenter.com/events/detail/ufc271 ]," tweeted the UFC.
Here is the UFC's official announcement regarding the addition of Derrick Lewis vs. Tai Tuivasa for UFC 271 on social media:
'The Black Beast' holds a 26-8 record, with one no contest, in his professional mixed martial arts career so far, while 'Bam Bam' is 13-3.
Derrick Lewis wasn't comfortable fighting Ciryl Gane at the same venue in front of a home crowd last year
The last time Derrick Lewis fought in Texas amid a home crowd, things didn't turn out well for him. He fought Ciryl Gane for the interim heavyweight belt at UFC 265 in August 2021 at the same venue and suffered a third-round TKO loss.
Speaking on The MMA Hour YouTube show earlier this month, Lewis stressed that the pressure of making a great story in his own backyard got the better of him and cost him big time.
He added that it was 13 years to the same day that he was released from prison after violating probation for an aggravated assault charge while still in high school.
"I don’t want to experience that ever again. It was too much pressure. To the point where I really was calling people up to let me get some weed so I can relax my nerves during fight day... Before they gave me some time to go to prison. That’s the other time I felt so much pressure, but other than that it was the Houston card. It was the same day that I got out, the same day I fought. It was 13 years to that day... I put a lot of pressure on myself because it would've made a great story," said Lewis.
Watch Derrick Lewis in conversation with Ariel Helwani below:
