Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
Derrick Lewis is gearing up for his Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) return, and he’s going back to the “World’s Most Famous Arena.” According to ESPN’s Brett Okamoto, “Black Beast” is in talks to face Blagoy Ivanov at the upcoming UFC 244 pay-per-view (PPV) event on Nov, 2, 2019 inside Madison Square Garden in New York City.
If it comes to light, it will be nearly one year to-the-date that Lewis faced Daniel Cormier at Madison Square Garden for the Heavyweight title, losing to “DC” via rear-naked choke. Five months later, Derrick suffered a technical knockout defeat to Junior dos Santos (highlights), giving him his first-ever multiple-fight losing streak of his career.
After his loss to “Cigano,” Lewis underwent knee surgery to correct some lingering issues, but it seems eight months will be enough time for the hard-hitting big man to return to his headhunting ways.
Blagoy, meanwhile, has won two straight after coming up short to the aforementioned dos Santos in his UFC debut back in 2018. The former Bellator MMA heavyweight champion most recently defeated Tai Tuivasa via unanimous decision at UFC 238, just three months after outscoring Ben Rothwell the same night Lewis got knocked out by “Cigano.”
A win for Ivanov would be huge for his UFC championship aspirations, while Derrick is simply looking to snap out of his funk with a victory.
As it stands, UFC has yet-to-announce a headlining act for what is sure-to-be a massive PPV event, but we can expect all of that to change in the coming months. For now, care to offer up your predictions for this potential hard-hitting Heavyweight affair?