One of the biggest middleweight rematches of all-time is officially in the books as Israel Adesanya outlasted Robert Whittaker to a unanimous decision at UFC 271 on Feb. 12, 2022 live on ESPN+ PPV from inside Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. You can now take an in-depth look at UFC 271 courtesy of UFC’s most recent edition of ‘The Thrill and the Agony’ video series.
As expected, Adesanya and Whittaker delivered the goods atop UFC 271’s main card. The rematch didn’t offer the same devastating knockout finish that “Last Stylebender” captured in their first meeting back at UFC 243, but both middleweights showed up for the championship reboot. In the end, Adesanya was able to outlast Whittaker on the feet and steal more rounds than he lost. It was quite the fight and one that allowed Adesanya and Whittaker to bury the hatchet and call an end to their feud after the final bell.
In the co-main event, streaking heavyweight contender Tai Tuivasa shocked the MMA world by putting a stop to knockout king Derrick Lewis in the second round. Lewis was connecting quite a bit but his legendary power wasn’t working the same against “Bam Bam” that it has opposite so many other fighters. Tuivasa was able to withstand the punishment from “Black Beast” and dished out his own offense. After landing a few punches Tuivasa connected on an elbow from hell that sent Lewis crashing to the canvas for the knockout stoppage. It was the fifth-straight knockout finish for Tuivasa under the bright lights of the Octagon. Of course, a shoey was done afterwards to celebrate the victory.
Check out all of the pre-fight, mid-fight, and post-fight action above and let us know your thoughts. Where do you think UFC 271 will rank among 2022’s biggest PPV events?
For complete UFC 271 results and coverage click HERE.