A heavyweight bout between Derrick Lewis and Tai Tuivasa is in the works for UFC 271 on Feb. 12 in Houston, promotion officials told ESPN's Brett Okamoto.
Contracts have not yet been signed, but the matchup is close to being finalized.
Lewis competed in the final UFC main event of 2021, defeating Chris Daukaus in the first round to become the promotion's all-time knockouts leader. "The Black Beast" has won five of his last six fights, with his only blemish during that stretch coming in an interim title fight against Ciryl Gane. Lewis resides in Houston.
Tuivasa also stepped into the Octagon in December, picking up a second-round knockout victory over Augusto Sakai to punch his ticket into the heavyweight rankings. "Bam Bam" is riding a four-fight winning streak, including a devastating finish of former NFL player Greg Hardy.
UFC 271 is set to take place at Toyota Center and will feature a middleweight title rematch between champion Israel Adesanya and former champ Robert Whittaker.
