3 storylines to watch at UFC 271

Israel Adesanya will put his middleweight title on the line in a rematch with former champion Robert Whittaker in the UFC 271 main event on Saturday in Houston.

The card also features a heavyweight co-headliner between Derrick Lewis and Tai Tuivasa, as well as a middleweight fight pitting Jared Cannonier against Derek Brunson.

Here are three key storylines heading into the event.

Has Whittaker made enough adjustments?

Whittaker has been saying all the right things ahead of his shot at redemption. He's admitted that the mental warfare and his "ego" got the best of him in the first fight - that Adesanya got inside his head. Whittaker said he's a much different person than when Adesanya knocked him out in 2019 to win the title. By all accounts, he's in a much better place from a mental standpoint.

But the big question is whether that'll matter.

For Whittaker to beat Adesanya, it's going to take significant improvements to his skill set and adjustments to his UFC 243 game plan. Though Whittaker has made several improvements in the past two years, Adesanya has probably made just as many. The champion's striking has continued to develop from when he debuted in the UFC, while his grappling defense has leveled up a notch.

But Whittaker is a brilliant fighter. His wins against Kelvin Gastelum, Cannonier, and Darren Till were some of the best performances of his UFC career. If anyone can make the necessary adjustments to give Adesanya a tougher fight in a rematch, it's "The Reaper," but it's not going to be easy.

Is this Tuivasa's time?

Tuivasa will have the most substantial opportunity of his MMA career at UFC 271.

A Tuivasa victory will move the No. 11-ranked heavyweight into the group of elite fighters in the division, as Lewis is a former title challenger and ranked third. This is by far Tuivasa's toughest test to date, but it could be well worth it in the end.

It remains to be seen whether Tuivasa is ready for such a challenge. His biggest wins in recent memory came against Augusto Sakai and Greg Hardy, and those fighters - especially Hardy - don't compare to someone of Lewis' caliber.

That said, Tuivasa has performed much better over the past year-and-a-half than early in his UFC career. Not long ago, he had lost three in a row and was on the verge of the promotion releasing him. Now he seems destined to be a contender.

We'll find out Saturday if that begins against Lewis.

Middleweight title shot up for grabs

UFC 271 will play host to a mini-tournament in the middleweight division.

The main-card bout between Cannonier and Brunson is about as close to an official title eliminator you can get without it being one.

Cannonier is 4-1 in his past five fights - the lone loss came against Whittaker - and Brunson is riding a five-fight winning streak. Plus, the only fighter ranked ahead of them besides Adesanya and Whittaker is Marvin Vettori, who just fought Adesanya last year.

The stakes will be high on Saturday, as the winner of Cannonier-Brunson could face off with the winner of Adesanya-Whittaker later in 2022.