UFC 271 Bonus Report: Tai Tuivasa earns POTN for KO of Derrick Lewis

The Octagon returned to Houston for tonight’s UFC 271 event, an fourteen-bout fight card headlined by Israel Adesanya vs. Robert Whittaker.

The highly anticipated middleweight title fight rematch proved to be a hard fought back and forth affair. Israel Adesanya seemingly got the better of Robert Whittaker in the opening ten minutes, even dropping ‘The Reaper’ with a right hand in the opening frame. However, Whittaker would start to turn the tide in round three and then appeared to get the better of ‘Stylebender’ in rounds four and five. After twenty-five minutes of action the bout went to the judges scorecards for decision and Adesanya was awarded the win.

In the co-main event of UFC 271, fan favorite heavyweights Derrick Lewis and Tai Tuivasa clashed with hopes of entering title contention. The bout resulted in the nasty knockout many fans and pundits were expecting. Tai Tuivasa was able to land a crushing standing elbow to the dome of Derrick Lewis (see that here), which sent ‘The Black Beast’ crashing to the canvas in a state of unconsciousness.

The rest of today’s fight card also delivered with some memorable scraps and jaw-dropping finishes.

Following the conclusion of Saturday’s UFC 271 event, promotional officials announced at the post-fight press conference that four fighters would be taking home performance bonuses.

Fight of the night: Bantamweight fighters Douglas Silva de Andrade and Sergey Morozov each pocketed an extra $50k for their thrilling war on today’s UFC 271 early prelims. Andrade won the bout in the second round with a technical submission (rear-naked choke).

Performance of the night: Tai Tuivasa picked up an extra $50k for his nasty knockout of Derrick Lewis in tonight’s co-headliner. The Aussie landed a standing elbow to the dome of the ‘Black Beast’, sending Lewis crashing down to the canvas.

Performance of the night: Jared Cannonier earned an extra $50k for his brutal knockout of Derek Brunson. ‘The Killa Gorilla’ hurt Brunson with a standing elbow and then promptly finished him off on the ground with some nasty strikes.

Are you surprised by any of the performance bonuses handed out following the conclusion of today’s UFC 271 event in Houston? Share your thoughts in the comment section PENN Nation!