UFC heavyweight knockout machine Derrick Lewis is the most powerful puncher in the entire 265-pound weight class, surpassing fellow jaw-jacking titans like Francis Ngannou, Stipe Miocic, and Alistair Overeem, just to name a few.
That’s according to former UFC champion Daniel Cormier.
“It was on my Twitter and I said, ‘Derrick Lewis has the most power ever,’ and somebody goes, ‘Francis 1, Derrick 2,’” Cormier said on his ESPN show. “Everybody started going, ‘Francis, Francis, Francis.’ People, there is a reason Francis Ngannou was so tentative in his fight with Derrick Lewis. It’s the only time he’s ever fought like that. Francis just bullrushes everybody, from Stipe Miocic to Alistair Overeem. Almost a blatant disregard for them and their power.”
Despite their combined strength, Lewis and Ngannou barely threw any punches in their UFC 226 showdown, a three-round snoozefest that is widely considered one of the worst fights in the history of the 265-pound weight class.
Cormier puts most of the blame on Ngannou.
“He stood and took pictures with Derrick Lewis because of the power coming back in his direction,” Cormier said. “So let’s not go acting as if Derrick Lewis doesn’t have the power to match anyone in the heavyweight division, even Francis Ngannou. When you talk about knockouts, nobody has more than Derrick, so how can you say that another guy has more power than him? And that’s not a knock on Francis, that’s just reality.”
With his thunderous knockout over Curtis Blaydes at UFC Vegas 19 last weekend in Las Vegas, Lewis tied Vitor Belfort for most knockouts in UFC history with 12. It should be noted that Cormier holds a submission victory over “Black Beast” at UFC 230, so the better Lewis looks, the better “DC” looks.
Perhaps a Lewis vs. Ngannou rematch will settle this once and for all.