Derrick Lewis and Tai Tuivasa are set to lock horns on Saturday, Feb. 12 in a heavyweight crossroads match at UFC 271. Let's examine their bout, beginning with the latest betting odds available. 

Big hitter Lewis is facing a surging Tuivasa

The further away Lewis gets from ex-champions and legitimate title contenders, the more dangerous he becomes. Lewis turned in a resounding performance last December when he blasted Chris Daukaus into the stratosphere, though Daukaus’ body somehow managed to stay in the arena. This came after being dominated and stopped by Ciryl Gane in an interim title fight. With another head-first striker put in front of him and in his home state of Texas, Lewis is in position for another violent stoppage.

Lewis is the bigger puncher, with a noticeable advantage in reach. He will also greatly benefit from Tuivasa’s predictable game plan of coming right at him and hoping for the best.

Tuivasa is fighting his toughest opponent in years

After fighting back to legitimacy following a three-fight losing streak, Tuivasa has won his last four fights. He savaged the floundering Greg Hardy and Augusto Sakai in recent bouts, and a win against Lewis will put him on the cusp of a major fight. All but one of Tuivasa’s 14 wins have come by stoppage before the second round.

The same line of thinking applied to Daukaus, and Lewis tore right through him. Should Tuivasa overcome Lewis and spoil his homecoming, he will have announced his arrival in the heavyweight elite.

The inevitable Lewis KO will come in round one

2021’s Godzilla vs. Kong painted a picture of two monsters capable of unparalleled destruction, and what it got right was that Kong couldn’t match Godzilla blow-for-blow. Life will imitate art in the octagon here, especially with Lewis’ pronounced advantage in power and experience. Aside from being a slow starter, Lewis is the most dangerous gatekeeper in combat sports, and Tuivasa plays right into his heavy hands.

Tuivasa will take the initiative and try to force a pace on Lewis, but his lack of lateral movement and leaky defense means he’s going to do all of that while standing directly in front of him. Once Lewis starts to let his hands go, Tuivasa is going to get clipped for his troubles. We like Lewis to end Tuivasa’s night as early as the first round.

UFC 271 pick: Lewis