Combined, Junior dos Santos and Derrick Lewis have 32 wins by knockout.
Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) heavyweight champion, Junior dos Santos, is the winner of back-to-back fights and at age 35, is once again knocking on the door of title contention. While he may be ranked No. 8 in the division, a win over the No. 3-ranked Derrick Lewis may drop him back in the Top 5.
But that would require “Cigano” to last 25 minutes against “The Black Beast” in the upcoming UFC Fight Night 146 mixed martial arts (MMA) event, taking place this Sat. night (March 9, 2019) on ESPN+ from inside INTRUST Bank Arena in Wichita, Kansas.
Should be a piece of cake, judging by the Brazilian’s scouting report.
“I can dominate this fight anywhere the fight goes,” Dos Santos told MMA Junkie. “I’m better than him. I know this guy is big, he has a lot of power, but he’s also a big target. I’m ready to throw a lot of punches against him, and I’m sure I’m going to connect them. He hits very hard. He has a lot of knockout power, but he can’t hit what he can’t catch. I’m much more faster than him, and I’m going to use that for sure.”
They say speed kills … but so do Hail Marys.
Dos Santos (20-5) is coming off a technical knockout victory over Tai Tuivasa at the UFC Fight Night 142 headliner last December in Adelaide. It was the second straight win for “Cigano” after outpointing Blagoy Ivanov at UFC Fight Night 133 last summer.
Lewis (21-6, 1 NC) slugged his way into a last-minute title shot opposite Daniel Cormier at UFC 230 back in November, but watched his three-fight win streak go up in smoke by way of “DC” submission midway through the second stanza.
Dos Santos vs. Lewis … who ya’ got?
To see the entire UFC Fight Night 146 fight card and line up click here.