Derrick Lewis

Two fights to make after UFC Vegas 9

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UFC, Dana White

This past weekend at UFC Vegas 9, Alistair Overeem (47-18, 1 NC) stopped Augusto Sakai (15-2-1) in the fifth round of their heavyweight main event. Despite all the obstacles, I would say that the card delivered a solid night of action for the UFC.

One of the things that is popular around the water cooler on Monday is what’s next for the fighters of the past weekend’s UFC card. With that, let’s take a look at two fights that the promotion should look to book after UFC Vegas 9.

A UFC rematch with Overeem & Rozenstruik

The first fight that I think the UFC should look to book is a rematch between Overeem and Jairzinho Rozenstruik (11-1). We just saw Rozenstruik back at UFC 252 where he knocked out Junior Dos Santos in their fight. Both contenders are ranked inside the top five.

These two men fought back in December at UFC on ESPN 7. In that fight, Overeem was getting the better of the fight and he was on his way to a decision win. However one massive shot in the final ten seconds of the fight gave the win to Rozenstruik.

Given the current state of the UFC‘s heavyweight division, a fight between the two men makes the most sense. Derrick Lewis (24-7, 1 NC) would have been another good option for Overeem, but Lewis is already booked to fight Curtis Blaydes in November.

Michel Pereira vs Anthony Pettis

If you’re not entertained when the UFC‘s Michel Pereira (24-11, 2 NC), I really don’t know what to tell you. Pereira is an absolute wild man with a wide range of powerful strikes. He used his skills to stifle and defeat Zelim Imadaev last weekend.

After the fight was over Pereira called out Jorge Masvidal. Hate to burst Pereira’s bubble, but that’s not happening. Pereira needs to get someone in the top fifteen in his next UFC outing though. Based on his techniques, I thought of someone interesting.

Pereira loves to throw flashy strikes like the showtime kick, so why not pair him against the man who made it famous? Anthony Pettis (23-10) is currently the 14th ranked welterweight in the UFC. The former lightweight champion doesn’t have an opponent at the moment.

A fight between the two men would pair two of the flashiest strikers in the UFC against each other. Men who aren’t afraid to jump off the sides of the cage to land something spectacular. It would also be a big fight for Pereira as he tries to advance his UFC career.

UFC: Derrick Lewis – Curtis Blaydes to headline Fight Night on November 28th

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The UFC is finalizing a very important fight for the heavyweight division for November. Per Brett Okamoto, “The Black Beast” Derrick Lewis (24-7, 1 NC) will be taking on Curtis “Razor” Blaydes (14-2, 1 NC) on November 28th.

UFC Title Eliminator?

The fight between Blaydes and Lewis pairs together the UFC‘s second and fourth ranked contenders at heavyweight. UFC 252 saw Stipe Miocic retain his title, and now the dominoes in the division are starting to fall into place.

Derrick Lewis just became the heavyweight knockout king at UFC Vegas 6 with his stoppage over Alexey Oleynik. Lewis came out like a bat out of hell in the second round to stop Oleynik in 21 seconds.

The win was Lewis’ third straight win. Lewis also has wins over Ilir Latifi and Blagoy Ivanov in this winning streak. Lewis is one of the more popular fighters in the UFC, and you can bet fans are hoping he gets another crack at UFC gold one day.

A big road block stands in his way in Curtis Blaydes. Blaydes is coming off of a decision win over Alexander Volkov back in June at UFC on ESPN 11. It wasn’t the prettiest performance, but Blaydes got the job done.

The win was the fourth in a row for Blaydes. Since his UFC debut back in 2016, the only man to defeat Blaydes inside the octagon is current top contender, Francis Ngannou. Ngannou has stopped Blaydes twice.

The fight between Lewis and Blaydes will likely determine who will get a title shot in early 2021. It’s clear that Ngannou will get the next shot unless the UFC pivots to Jon Jones. Either way, the Lewis – Blaydes fight has massive title picture implications.

Francis Ngannou is waiting as UFC 252 draws closer

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Francis Ngannou

This Saturday night at UFC 252, perhaps the greatest trilogy in the promotions history comes to a head. Stipe Miocic and Daniel Cormier will go to battle for the third time. Both men have knocked the other out in the previous battles.

The fight has been characterized by Dana White as the fight to settle who is the greatest heavyweight in UFC history. While both men battle for that distinction, the most intimidating heavyweight in UFC history is patiently waiting in the wings.

The UFC’s Predator awaits his chance

In terms of resume, Cormier and Miocic are head and shoulders above the pack when it comes to being the best heavyweight. However, when it comes to intimidation, nobody is more terrifying than Francis Ngannou (15-3).

When Ngannou fights, it’s like watching a prime Mike Tyson. Everyone is on the edge of their seat with their eyes glued open. Don’t blink because he might remove someone from consciousness in that one blink.

Don’t believe me, ask former UFC heavyweight champions Junior Dos Santos, Cain Velasquez and Andrei Arlovski. Or ask top UFC contenders Curtis Blaydes, Jairzinho Rozenstruik, and Alistair Overeem.

Incredible list of opponents right? Even more impressive when you consider the fact that Ngannou knocked all six of those men out in the first round. Not a single one of those UFC contests went past two minutes.

That is incredibly terrifying to think about. Now, Ngannou is not perfect as we saw in his fights with Stipe Miocic and Derrick Lewis. He dropped both of those by decision. I’m giving him a break on the Lewis fight because he just looked defeated after the Miocic fight.

Ngannou has never been better

Ngannou is even more dangerous now than ever before because he realizes his vulnerability. He realizes there is danger in fighting and a fighter who understands danger can become even more dangerous.

Ngannou is on a stretch right now where he’s 4-0 with four first round knockouts. Those fights have gone a combined 2:42. The Predator is the clear number one contender in the UFC‘s heavyweight division.

No matter what the result is on Saturday, the next title shot should belong to Francis Ngannou. Whether Ngannou fights Miocic again or he fights Jon Jones or Derrick Lewis for the vacant championship after the winner retires. Regardless of who, The Predator is ready for his next shot at UFC gold.

 

Derrick Lewis becomes heavyweight knockout king at UFC Vegas 6

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There have been so many knockout artist in the history of the UFC’s heavyweight division. You’ve had guys like Junior Dos Santos, Shane Carwin, Francis Ngannou, Cain Velasquez, and many more.

At UFC Vegas 6, The Black Beast, Derrick Lewis (23-7, 1), surpassed all of those men when he knocked out Alexey Oleynik (59-15-1) in the second round of their main event contest.

What’s next for the UFC’s heavyweight knockout king?

Derrick Lewis has truly been one of the better heavyweights in the UFC over the last five years. Most people think about his personality and his exciting fighting style, but the man has been extremely good and consistent.

Since October of 2015, Lewis has gone 12-3 in the UFC‘s heavyweight division. Eight of those wins coming via stoppage. Outside of Francis Ngannou, there might not be a harder puncher in the heavyweight division.

At UFC Vegas 6, the fight started slow for Lewis. Despite having top position at times in the first round, Lewis clearly lost the first round to Oleynik. The grappling was not doing him any favors early on.

Lewis came out like a wild man to start the second round. A flying knee which transitioned to a beautiful right hand floored Oleynik. A few massive shots later and Herb Dean called the fight.

For Lewis, it was his third straight win inside the octagon. Lewis said he wants to drop about 10-15 pounds before he fights again, but he’s hoping to fight in December.

The question becomes, who is next for Lewis? There are a couple of options that could be next. The UFC could have him fight Curtis Blaydes. He could also potentially fight the winner of the Junior Dos Santos – Jairzinho Rozenstruik fight.

Ngannou – Lewis 2?

One interesting possibility I want to throw out is Francis Ngannou. While it’s not interesting in the sense of them fighting, it’s interesting in that it could be a fight for the UFC‘s vacant heavyweight title.

Daniel Cormier and Stipe Miocic might both retire after UFC 252. Cormier has said it’s for sure his last fight, but there are rumors that Stipe walks away as well. I can’t see the UFC giving Blaydes a third fight with Ngannou, who is the clear number one contender.

Lewis holds a win over Ngannou. If the promotion needs a fight for the vacant heavyweight title, I think Lewis – Ngannou 2 could be a strong possibility.

UFC Vegas 6 Preview: Derrick Lewis and Alexey Oleynik battle in a heavyweight main event

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The UFC will host another Fight Night from the APEX tomorrow night. In the main event of the evening, The Black Beast, Derrick Lewis (23-7), takes on Alexey Oleynik (59-13-1) in a heavyweight battle. Lets take a look at the main card for UFC Vegas 6.

Lewis & Oleynik going for 3 straight in the UFC

One of the most entertaining fighters in the UFC is back as The Black Beast returns tomorrow night. Lewis is entertaining for his fighting style and his one of a kind post-fight interviews.

Lewis is one of the most powerful punchers in the heavyweight division. He’s the kind of guy who’s going to try to remove your head when he hits you. Over his career, Lewis has wins over Alexander Volkov, Francis Ngannou, Travis Brown, Roy Nelson, and I could go on.

Lewis was able to get a title shot in late 2018 after winning three fights in a row. He was stopped due to Daniel Cormier’s heavy wrestling attack. After that, he lost to JDS, but has since bounced back with back-to-back wins.

Oleynik also comes into this fight after winning back-to-back fights. Oleynik is looking to get his 60th professional win tomorrow night which is truly incredible.

The Boa Constrictor is the perfect name for Oleynik. He’s going to look to get this fight to the ground so he can choke Lewis. Out of 59 wins, 46 of them have come via submission over Oleynik’s career.

Now, we have seen Oleynik get finished recently. Before his two straight wins, he was knocked out in the first round by Walt Harris and Alistair Overeem.

Oleynik’s only chance in this fight is to get the fight to the ground, and I’m not sure he has the wrestling to get Lewis down. If he can get top position somehow, he can easily win this fight by submission.

However, I think Lewis is going to have his way on the feet. I expect something big to land early, and I expect that we will get another classic Derrick Lewis post-fight interview.

Prediction: Derrick Lewis by TKO – Round 1

Chris Weidman vs Omari Akhmedov

In the co-main event of the evening we have a middleweight contest between the former UFC middleweight champion, Chris Weidman (14-5) and Omari Akhmedov (20-4-1).

For Weidman, this is a massive fight for his career. The former champion enters the cage after going 1-5 in his last six fights. All five of those losses have seen him get knocked out. The one fight he won, he also got dropped by Kelvin Gastelum.

A few years ago, Weidman was considered one of the pound for pound best. He had good wrestling, he was good on the ground, and he had solid striking with good power. However, the last five years have left us wondering just how good he really was.

Weidman moved up to light heavyweight late last year to try something new and was quickly knocked out by Dominick Reyes. This fight is truly a make or break fight for the All-American.

Akhmedov has quietly put together a very impressive resume over the last four years. He’s going 5-0-1 with wins over guys like Ian Heinisch and Tim Boetsch. Akhmedov might not be the most exciting fighter, but he’s very effective.

This is a fight where I’m really not sure what to expect. This fight is not going to be thrilling on the feet, and I think we might see a couple of stalemates in the grappling exchanges.

To me, this is truly a toss-up. I think this will be probably the most underwhelming fight on the main card. I think it’s close because neither man dominates, but I’ll go out on a slight edge and say Weidman will get a split decision here.

Prediction: Chris Weidman by Split Decision

Darren Stewart vs Maki Pitolo

The third fight of the UFC Vegas 6 main card features middleweights Darren Stewart (11-5, 1 NC) and Maki Pitolo (13-5). If you’re wanting a stand up battle tomorrow night, look no further than this fight.

Stewart enters the octagon after going 4-2 in his last six fights. The biggest name he fought was Edmen Shahbazyan and the fight was very close. Stewart performed very well there.

Stewart is one of the more powerful guys in the division. He pushes forward with big shots and he usually starts very fast. He didn’t look great in his last fight against Bartosz Fabinski, but fortunately, Stewart is fighting someone who’s going to try and wrestle him.

Coconut Bombz, Maki Pitolo, is coming off of a knockout win over Charles Byrd back at UFC 250. Pitolo will enter the cage 4-1 in his last five fights.

Like Stewart, Pitolo is the type of guy who is going to stand and bang. He’s going to throw big power at you. If this fight has a finish, I think Pitolo is going to get it done.

However, I’m not sure the fight will get finished. If Stewart can stay patient and not be drawn into a brawl, I think he can win this fight on the scorecards. However, if it turns into brawl mode, he might get hurt.

Prediction: Darren Stewart by Split Decision

Julija Stoliarenko vs Yana Kunitskaya

The second fight of the main card features a UFC women’s bantamweight contest between Julija Stoliarenko (9-3-2) and Yana Kunitskaya (12-5, 1 NC).

Kunitskaya has had an interesting run in the UFC so far. She got the pleasure of debuting against Cris Cyborg. Predictably, she was finished in the first round. She then won back-to-back fights before fighting Aspen Ladd.

Kunitskaya was finished in the third round of that fight. 2-2 in the octagon so far but the two losses were to top competition. The former Invicta bantamweight champion has a pretty solid overall game.

She has good wrestling and she’s skilled on the feet. She’s going to bring a diverse striking attack to Stoliarenko. I really like Kunitskaya’s kicks and I think those could be key in this matchup.

Stoliarenko is a submission specialist that’s only lost once since 2016. That fight came against Leah Letson at the Ultimate Fighter finale back in 2018. Stoliarenko competed and lost on the show as well.

Out of nine professional wins, eight of them have come via armbar. When the fight hits the mat, there’s no questioning what Stoliarenko is looking to do. On the feet, she can hold her own, but will definitely be at a disadvantage here.

I think this is a tough matchup for Stoliarenko. If the fight hits the ground, she’s very capable of pulling off a submission victory, but I think we are going to see these ladies stand most of the fight which really favors Kunitskaya.

Prediction: Yana Kunitskaya by Unanimous Decision

Beneil Dariush vs Scott Holtzman

The UFC Vegas 6 main card kicks off with a lightweight contest between Beneil Dariush (18-4-1) and Scott Holtzman (14-3). Both guys will make the walk tomorrow carrying multiple fight winning streaks.

Dariush will enter the octagon riding a four fight winning streak. Quietly, Dariush has been one of the better fighters at lightweight for a long time, but due to the stacked nature of the division, he’s a guy who flies under the radar.

Dariush is really good wherever the fight goes. Great on the ground and fluid on his feet. He hold wins over guys like Jim Miller, Michael Johnson, James Vick, Drew Dober and Drakkar Klose. The one real knock on Dariush is he has a tendency to get rocked on the feet.

That tendency is something that Holtzman will look to take advantage of. He will look to press the action and use his solid boxing skills to win a stand up fight with Dariush.

Holtzman looked really good back in February in his fight with Jim Miller winning by unanimous decision. Holtzman has some good pop in his shots and he’s got decent wrestling as well.

The problem for Holtzman is that I’m just not sure he’s better at anything over Dariush. I think at some point late in the fight, the two are going to end up on the mat, and I think Dariush is going to pick up his fifth straight victory.

Prediction: Beneil Dariush by Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) – Round 3

UFC Vegas 6 Outlook

The month of August is the month of the heavyweights for the UFC. This is our official tuneup for next week’s Stipe-DC 3 title fight. There are very solid fights up and down the card, and I expect to see some solid action overall.

Curtis Blaydes Claims UFC Is Protecting Derrick Lewis With Alexander Volkov Matchup

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Alexander Volkov, UFC

The UFC has a competitive top half of the rankings right now in the heavyweight division and the race to the top will definitely be impacted by the matchup between Curtis Blaydes and Alexander Volkov that’s set for June 20th.

Interestingly, however, Blaydes believes that being placed against the seventh ranked heavyweight and the winner of seven of the last eight fights is actually a move that sells him short to an extent. According to Blaydes, his skills are good enough to destroy currently fourth ranked Derrick Lewis, who Blaydes says that the UFC wants to protect.

“After I beat Junior, I knew it was going to be Volkov. I knew they weren’t going to give me Derrick Lewis. They don’t want him to lose, and they know if they gave him me, I would destroy him, so I knew he was off the table. I knew it had to be Volkov, so as soon as it was offered, I said yes,” Blaydes said to MMA Junkie.

While Volkov has had an impressive run of results since entering the UFC, Blaydes also has an impressive record of his own – only two career losses and one no-contest, with both of the losses coming at the hands of Francis Ngannou. There’s no shame, of course, in losing to Ngannou. The hard hitting heavyweight is currently the number two contender and has already fought for title title himself, losing to current champion Stipe Miocic.

While Blaydes believes he deserves a fight with Lewis, he also hasn’t dismissed his current opponent.

“I respect every opponent. I know he’s got skills. I know he’s efficient in striking, but I also know he’s not the best grappler in the world. I know he’s not the caliber grappler I am, and I believe I have the better conditioning,” he continued.

Blaydes may just get the fight he’s looking for with Lewis in the future, but that defends on a win against Volkov, who is a tough challenger in his own right. It won’t take long, though, for the final result to be determined – Blaydes and Volkov are set to fight on the 20th at the UFC APEX facility, as the headliners for UFC on ESPN 11.

UFC: Derrick Lewis-Alexey Oleinik to headline August 8th Fight Night

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One of the more popular figures in the UFC will be making his return on August 8th. Per ESPN’s Ariel Helwani, the always-entertaining, Derrick “The Black Beast” Lewis (23-7, 1 NC), will be making his return in a headlining fight against top-15 heavyweight, Alexey Oleinik.

The Black Beast is looking for another UFC title shot

Derrick Lewis became a sensation after his come from behind knockout of Alexander Volkov at UFC 229. The most watched UFC PPV in history featured Lewis knocking out Volkov with just seconds remaining in the fight, after he had been losing the entire time. Lewis’ post-fight interviewing skills are legendary, and a star was born that night. Lewis went from the Volkov fight to fighting for the title against Daniel Cormier. Lewis lost that fight then he lost again to former champion, Junior dos Santos. Since that loss, Lewis has bounced back with back-to-back victories over Blagoy Ivanov and Ilir Latifi. Lewis is currently ranked as the fourth best heavyweight in the UFC, and a victory on August 8th would put him in the title conversation once again.

Seasoned and Tested

Probably the most seasoned fighter in the UFC is heavyweight, Alexey Oleinik. At 42-years-old, Oleinik has fought 73 times professionally to a record of 59-13-1. Oleinik hit a bump in the road in 2019 after losing fights to Alistair Overeem and Walt Harris. Oleinik has bounced back strong in 2020. Oleinik has fought and won twice this year against Maurice Green and former heavyweight champion, Fabricio Werdum. A win over Lewis would be massive for Oleinik. Oleinik is currently ranked as the 11th best heavyweight in the UFC, but a win over Lewis would vault him closer to the top five.