"People just love him" - MMA fighters, journos, fans react to heavyweight banger between Tai Tuivasa and Derrick Lewis at UFC 271

Derrick Lewis (left) and Tai Tuivasa (right) face off after their UFC 271 ceremonial weigh-ins in Houston on Friday

Tai Tuivasa put the heavyweight division on notice with a knockout of former title challenger Derrick Lewis. Tuivasa won thanks to a lethal elbow in round two of their UFC 271 co-main event at the Toyota Center.

The bout was a banger with both stars landing some huge blows. Lewis seemed to be getting the better of Tuivasa at one point. However, 'Bam Bam' got the finish with a nasty elbow that sent Lewis crashing to the mat.

Despite defeating hometown and betting favorite Lewis in Houston, Texas, Tuivasa received huge applause from the crowd. 'Bam Bam' also performed his famous 'shoey' celebration with a fan as well.

Several mixed martial arts fighters, journalists and fans lauded both heavyweights for putting on a show for them. Ariel Helwani, Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson and Dominick Reyes took to Twitter to express their thoughts on the bout.

See how the MMA world reacted on social media following the Tai Tuivasa vs. Derrick Lewis encounter on Saturday night below:

Tuivasa just KO’d the hometown guy and is getting a ton of love. People just love him.

The Tai Tuivasa post-fight shoey line as he walks backstage has become an event unto itself. How can you not love it? #UFC271

Tai Tuivasa's elbow KO on Derrick Lewis is now a contender for Knock Out of the Year! 🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 #UFC271 twitter.com/AllThingsBatRa…

Bam Bam Tuivasa not scared to bang 💥 #UFC271

Tuivasa's last five opponents
- Struve (unranked)
- Hunsucker (unranked)
- Hardy (unranked)
- Sakai (11)
- Lewis (3)

Kinda crazy when you think about it #UFC271

Tai Tuivasa, top-3 heavyweight.

Incredible resilience to withstand what Lewis threw at him with the confidence to throw back.

Tai Tuivasa with the Upset. Top 3 baby. #UFC271 https://t.co/WF8eA4uMPC

Great heavyweight fight. Bravo, men! #UFC271

Tai survived shots that would’ve put other people to sleep then does this. What a moment 👟🍺 https://t.co/wsGYmRy2yR

What a great heavyweight fight. #ufc271

Man his clinch elbow game is best in the division

Holy shit!!
Huge respect for both these big men!
Malo uso!👟 🍺
#UFC272

'Bam Bam' improved his professional MMA career win-loss record to 14-3 with the UFC 271 triumph. 'The Black Beast' fell to 26-9, which includes a solitary 'no contest' way back in January 2012.

Tai Tuivasa likely to replace Derrick Lewis as No.3 UFC heavyweight contender

Tai Tuivasa is now possibly just one win away from sealing a heavyweight title shot in the UFC. He is likely to replace Derrick Lewis in the No.3 spot in his division's contender rankings when a new list is released next week.

However, Lewis is not expected to fall to Tuivasa's current spot of No.11 since he has defeated three - Curtis Blaydes (No.4), Alexander Volkov (No.5) and Chris Daukaus (No.7) - of the four fighters ranked immediately below him right now.

After suffering three consecutive losses not long ago, Tuivasa has racked up five straight victories, all by knockout. He has not crossed the second round since the unanimous decision defeat to Blagoy Ivanov at UFC 238 in June 2019.

KN😲CKED 😱UT C😵LD!

This is some run by Tai Tuivasa! 🤯

5️⃣ Wins in a row!
5️⃣ Finishes in a row!
5️⃣ KO’s in a row!

@bambamtuivasa has defeated the Black Beast! 😤

#UFC271 https://t.co/ChlzsXIzO5