Mixed martial arts (MMA) schadenfreude?
No. 11-ranked Heavyweight contender, Derrick Lewis — mired in an awful three-fight losing streak — was promoted to the pay-per-view (PPV) main card of UFC 291, which took place TONIGHT (Sat., July 29, 2023) inside Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah, when the weigh-ins yesterday went sideways. Indeed, “Black Beast” was gifted the opportunity to get back on track on a big stage, as well as potentially reclaim his spot atop UFC’s all-time knockout leaders (he’s now tied with Matt Brown). However, standing in his way was the heavy-handed submission artist from Brazil, Marcos Rogerio de Lima, who was in the midst of a two-fight win streak.
And, it didn’t take long to get things sorted, with Lewis sprinting out of his corner like Jorge Masvidal on Ben Askren with a flying knee, leading to an epic (and brutal) first round finish.
It didn’t take long at all — Lewis totally shocked everyone with his incredible gameplan. de Lima had no idea what hit him, turtling up into a ball after “Black Beast” connected with the 265-pound knee from Hades. Lewis poured on the ground-and-pound and seconds later the referee had no choice but to pull him off the Brazilian. Lewis was ecstatic, tearing off all his close and running around the cage in his boxer shorts.
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