Could Lewis and Ngannou finally fight for real after a terrible stalemate of a bout from 2018?
Derrick Lewis pulled off an upset on Saturday night at UFC 291, landing a super fast 33 second KO win against Marcos Rogério de Lima.
The bookies didn’t like Lewis’ chances very much coming into the fight. He was a +185 dog to de Lima, who was the -215 favorite. That’s what going 1-4 over your last five will do to your reputation, even if you are one of the most prolific knockout artists in UFC history. “The Black Beast” proved the doubters wrong, blitzing “Pezao” with a flying knee and then finishing him off with some ground and pound.
It was an electric moment, and as usual Lewis’ post-fight celebration was almost better than the fight itself. He dropped his shorts, did a dance, and joked through his interview with Joe Rogan. One thing that wasn’t a joke, though? The reveal that this was the last fight on his UFC contract.
“We’ll see,” he said when asked what was next. “Hopefully, I can get another contract with the UFC. If not, f— it. It is what it is.”
The UFC would be foolish to let the charismatic and entertaining Lewis go, but he’s a high price tag fighter that keeps crashing and burning every time he fights competition in the top five of the division. The UFC has been willing to let go of similar fighters to cut down on costs lately — why pay more when Contender Series fighters come cheap? But they may have some extra incentive to keep Lewis around.
Francis Ngannou is currently set to box Tyson Fury in October. Following that, he’ll return to MMA and compete for the PFL in 2024. Who he’ll fight is unclear, and honestly there aren’t too many great options for “The Predator” in the current free agent landscape. Lewis could be a solid option.
It’s not a perfect option: Ngannou and Lewis had one of the worst fights in UFC history back in 2018. We’d barely call it a fight: both men just kind of stood around and circled each other for 15 minutes. It was the exact opposite of what people expected from the fight.
Would that dud make a rematch much harder to market? Or would people look at it as a fluke? It certainly didn’t stop the UFC from trying to set up a rematch in 2021. Even with his uneven record, even with the terrible first fight, Derrick Lewis sells. Derrick Lewis vs. Francis Ngannou sells.
Hopefully “The Black Beast” uses those facts to get himself paid, one way or another.