Derrick Lewis will begin his march back to a UFC heavyweight title shot this Saturday night (Dec. 18, 2021) when he takes on Chris Daukaus in the main event of UFC Vegas 45 from inside UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Before then, let’s take a trip back in time to see one of “Black Beast’s” numerous highlight-reel knockout victories. In February of this year, Lewis faced off against wrestling powerhouse Curtis Blaydes in a five-round 265-pound tilt in “Sin City.” The stakes were elevated because the winner would go on to earn an interim title fight. And the beef was very real between the two big men, as well.
Straying from his usual grappling-heavy gameplan, Blaydes opted to stand and trade with his hard-hitting colleague. While he did have some success early on, the plan proved to be a huge mistake because Lewis was able to land a devastating uppercut midway through round two which dropped “Razor.”
Once on the ground, Lewis went on to deliver two massive follow-up shots that were rather unnecessary since Blaydes was already out for the count. Nevertheless, Lewis wanted to leave no doubt and went on to collect his fourth straight win.
“Black Beast” eventually went on to lose to Ciryl Gane via TKO at UFC 265, falling short in his bid to win UFC gold for a second time. Against Daukaus, Lewis will face a rising contender who has won all four of his UFC fights via KO/TKO, three of them in the very first round.
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