Lewis and Tuivasa ready for the postfight spotlight and a warning to an undefeated prospect

After Derrick Lewis and Tai Tuivasa finish flinging menacing leather in each other’s direction on Saturday night in Houston, in the co-main event of UFC 271, it will be time for the real show.

That’s not a reference to the main event between UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya and former champ Robert Whittaker, although their rematch promises some serious fireworks. But right before that fuse is lit, what happens in the immediate aftermath of the co-main will be no less of a spectacle.

If Lewis wins, he might celebrate by removing his too-hot shorts, like he did after defeating Alexander Volkov in 2018, or by flinging his protective cup into the crowd (remember his post-fight presser after stopping Chris Daukaus in Round 1?). If Tuivasa wins, someone’s going to walk home in a soggy shoe.

Looking at their performances inside the Octagon, it’s hard to fathom either of these sluggers producing anything as crowd-pleasing as his fisticuffs. Lewis has 13 knockouts in his UFC career, more than any other fighter in the promotion’s history, in any weight class. Among Tuivasa’s seven wins in the UFC, all but one have come by KO/TKO. But right after these guys turn out someone’s lights, they upstage themselves by shifting the spotlight to the celebration.

Relatively few fighters do postfight right. The occasional callout zinger or backflip off the top of the fence draws attention, but nothing gets a rise out of the crowd quite like Lewis shedding his fight…