UFC Fight Night 146 went down last night (Sat., March 9, 2019) inside INTRUST Bank Arena in Wichita, Kansas, as the ESPN+ fight card saw Junior dos Santos knockout Derrick Lewis in the headlining act to earn his his third straight victory (see it again here). Also, Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos took out Curtis Millender rather easily in the co-main event, while Niko Price dispatched of Tim Means in an exciting Welterweight war (highlights).
Biggest Winner: Junior dos Santos
With the heavyweight division about to become a bit thinner with the looming retirement of division king Daniel Cormier, now is the time for the big men to start making their move to the top. And “Cigano” is doing just that, winning three in a row — two via stoppage. His win over “Black Beast” looked like vintage “JDS,” as he was light on his feet on swinging his haymakers with mean intent and accuracy.
After a wild first round, Junior connected with a kick to the mid-section of Lewis, which left him wounded. Though Derrick tried his best to fight through it, even playing possum at one point, eventually Junior connected with a clean right hand and from there it was all she wrote. Now, “JDS” — who isn’t a big fan of Cormier vs Lesnar — has set himself up to jump up the rankings and make a case for a title shot, as he currently hold the longest winning streak in the weight class.
Runner Up: Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos
Elizeu got his first big shot as co-main event, and he made the most of it, running right through rising contender Curtis Millender like a hot knife through butter. I mean it was surgical. That is now seven in a row for dos Santos, with his lone loss inside the Octagon coming via questionable split decision in his debut back in 2015. Elizeu should be saying hello to a top 10 foe in his next outing, and he should remain on the main card for the foreseeable future, as this man has truly an exciting talent with unlimited potential to make some loud noise in the welterweight division.
Biggest Loser: Derrick Lewis
Lewis looked to get back in the winner’s circle after being submitted by Daniel Cormier at UFC 230 in his previous outing. Unfortunately for Derrick, he ran into a highly-motivated dos Santos, who handed him his second straight defeat, the first time Lewis has suffered back-to-back losses in his mixed martial arts (MMA) career. The climb back to the title gets a bit tougher, as does a do-over against Francis Ngannou. On the bright side, Lewis has the power in his hands to end fights rather quickly, so racking up three or four impressive wins in rapid pace isn’t out of the realm of possibility, which means he can get back in the mix sooner, rather than later. But the possibility and risk of dropping three straight will weigh heavy on his mind in his next fight.
For complete UFC Wichita results and coverage click here.