Derrick Lewis hopes to earn rematch with Tai Tuivasa after beating Jailton Almeida at UFC Sao Paulo

Derrick Lewis is hoping to run it back with Tai Tuivasa.

Lewis and Tuivasa fought back in the co-main event of UFC 271 in February of 2022, and it was the Aussie who won by second-round KO in a crazy fight. ‘The Black Beast’ had nearly finished Tuivasa in the first, but the Aussie was able to survive and ended up knocking out Lewis in the second frame.

Since that contest, Derrick Lewis then dropped his next two fights to Sergei Pavlovich and Serghei Spivac before returning to the win column in July against Marcos Rogerio de Lima. Lewis will now headline UFC Sao Paulo against Jailton Almeida and if he wins, ‘The Black Beast’ says he wants to run it back with Tai Tuivasa.

“So for sure, I want to run it back with Tai. He’s a cool guy and I have nothing but respect for him. I love his fighting style and I’m happy he made it this far in his career,” Derrick Lewis said to Fox Sports Australia. “We knew in that fight he would come in with a lot of power. But it was more about me backing up, backing off the gas whenever I had him in a bad position. Then he saw an opening and took it, that’s all.”

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If Derrick Lewis does pull off the upset and beat Jailton Almeida, a fight against Tai Tuivasa does make sense. Tuivasa is currently ranked eighth while Lewis is 10th. As well, Tuivasa has lost three straight fights since beating Lewis, so it would be a chance for him to rebound and try to return to the win column.

But, even if Lewis loses to Almeida, a rematch with Tuivasa could still be in the cards given their respective rankings and popularity. It’s a fight that could headline a Fight Night card sometime in 2024.