UFC heavyweight contender Tai Tuivasa earned the biggest win of his career at UFC 271 and he wasn’t going to leave the arena without celebrating in his signature style.
Tuivasa and Derrick Lewis put on a show in the UFC 271 co-main event. The two heavyweight brawlers threw wild exchanges throughout the fight, but it was Tuivasa that landed the knockout lead elbow that sent Lewis collapsing to the mat.
Tuivasa has emerged as a fan favorite over the past year due to his signature knockouts and post-fight celebrations. He’s well-known for his shoey celebrations in which he drinks beer out of a shoe given to him by a member of the crowd.
Just minutes after Tuivasa reaped the benefits of his incredible knockout win, he celebrated in the best way he knows.
Watch Tai Tuivasa do the shoey with a fan below.
Tuivasa’s win over Lewis was easily the biggest of his UFC career, as he now continues to climb up the ranks in the heavyweight division. He has kept up his positive momentum after three knockouts in 2021 over Augusto Sakai, Greg Hardy, and Harry Hunsucker.
With the loss to Tuivasa, Lewis has now lost back-to-back fights in front of his hometown crowd in Houston, TX. He lost to Ciryl Gane for the interim heavyweight title at UFC 265 last year.
Tuivasa will catapult in the rankings once the new list comes out next week. He entered the fight as the 11th-ranked heavyweight contender and will easily move into the Top-10, and possibly even the Top 6.
Tuivasa made his UFC debut back in 2017 against Rashad Coulter, earning a first-round knockout. He has also earned wins over the likes of former heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski and Stefan Struve.
Who do you want to see Tai Tuivasa fight next?