UFC 271 will be headlined by a highly anticipated middleweight title rematch between Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker. The event is scheduled to take place at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas on February 12.
The UFC 271 press conference will take place on Thursday, February 10 at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston. The conference will begin at 5:30 p.m. CST/ 6:30 p.m. ET/ 3:30 p.m. PT for US fans. For fans in the UK, the event kicks off at 11:30 p.m. Thursday. For Indian MMA fans, the event kicks off at 5:00 a.m. on Friday.
Fans can attend the event in person, absolutely free of charge. The call will also be streamed live on the official UFC website, as well as on YouTube, Facebook and Twitch accounts.
Rising contender Tai Tuivasa will take on heavyweight knockout king Derrick Lewis in the co-main event of UFC 271.
“Bam Bam” is currently riding a magnificent four-fight winning streak, with all four of his wins coming by way of knockout. Meanwhile, Lewis bounced back with a first-round knockout victory over Chris Daukaus after dropping an interim title to Ciryl Gane last August.
In a recent interview, Tuivasa revealed that he was drunk when he accepted the match against ‘The Black Beast’. Revealing how the fight happened, the Australian told ESPN:
“I was on the p*ss, I was blind [drunk]. I didn’t notice until the next morning that [UFC matchmaker] Mick Maynard messaged me and I replied. He texted, “Are you awake” and I said, “Yeah”; it was around 4:30 in the morning. And then I woke up to 20 missed calls from my manager, my coach Sully [Shaun Sullivan] and bullshit like that, so I was like, ‘Something must have happened.'”
While Tuivasa respects Lewis as a fighter, he thinks it’s time to step up. The 28-year-old further told ESPN:
“I really respect Derrick, what he’s done and the person he is. Why wouldn’t I say yes? I think it’s all win-win, it’s an opportunity for me, so I’m all in. And I think it’s my time, it’s time for me to take over and be the new one. [revered] fighter of my generation, just as he was before me. I think it’s time for me to take over.”