Thanks to the power of social media, UFC heavyweight Derrick Lewis has quickly risen from another one of the division’s many forgettable faces to one of the sport’s most entertaining personalities. The Black Beast’s Instagram page is a goldmine of fighter-bashing memes and generally strange cultural observations, and the man’s sense of humor can best be described as “don’t give a f*ck” with a heaping side of “come at me, bro.”
Of course, it doesn’t hurt that once inside the octagon, Lewis is nothing short of a stack of C-4 attached to a pair of tree trunks. Whether in victory or defeat, each and every one of Lewis’ eight UFC bouts have ended via some form of hellacious knockout, and his most recent performance against Gabriel Gonzaga was no different.
Having suffered 9 out of his 11 professional losses by way of (T)KO, the general consensus seemed to be that Gonzaga would have to take Lewis down and work his vastly superior jiu jitsu game in order to secure a victory. While “Napao” was able to do just that in the early going, it was Lewis’ defense on the ground that was arguably more impressive. “The Black Beast” not only managed to escape Gonzaga’s mount, but shucked off a rear-naked choke attempt with the concern of a man ordering a pizza via Domino’s emoji-based delivery system.
And when the fight was forced back to the feet, it was only a matter of time until Gonzaga ate canvas, and boy did he ever. Lewis landed a monster uppercut that sent Gonzaga crashing to the mat and finished him off with a few follow-up punches, marking his third straight TKO finish inside the octagon. Up next for Lewis? It looks like a match against Roy Nelson.
As for Gonzaga, it might be about that time to consider retirement. The former title challenger has lost 4 out of his 5 last fights (3 by KO) and his only win in the past three years came in the hands down worst fight of 2015. With a UFC career dating back over 10 years and a dozen wins, “Napao” has nothing left to prove and would be best served saving what few brain cells he has left for things like playing Connect Four and remembering the names of his family members without a prompt.
In the main event of Fight Night 68′s heavyweight-heavy main card, Junior Dos Santos found his way back in the win column via a one-sided unanimous decision over the streaking Ben Rothwell. The former champ’s advantage in the speed department was noticeable from the get-go and was aided over the ensuing five rounds by the record number of body shots he was able to land on his flat-footed opponent. Probably the single greatest highlight from the fight was the Sparta kick JDS landed in the closing moments of the second round.
The win was a much-needed one for Dos Santos, who had gone 3-2 in his past 5 bouts since defending his title way back in 2012. Rothwell, on the other hand, saw a four fight win streak snapped in what may very well be a telling performance about just how far his awkward style can take him in the heavyweight division.
The full results for Fight Night 68 are below.
Main card (FOX Sports 1 at 2 p.m. ET)
Junior dos Santos def. Ben Rothwell via unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 50-45)
Derrick Lewis def. Gabriel Gonzaga via knockout (Round 1, 4:48)
Francis Ngannou def. Curtis Blaydes via TKO (doctor’s stoppage) (Round 2)
Timothy Johnson def. Marcin Tybura via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Jan Blachowicz def. Igor Pokrajac via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Maryna Moroz def. Cristina Stanciu via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Undercard
Zak Cummings def. Nicolas Dalby via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Alejandro Perez def. Ian Entwistle via verbal submission (Round 1, 4:04)
Mairbek Taisumov def. Damir Hadzovic via technical knockout (Round 1, 3:44)
Damian Stasiak def. Filip Pejic via submission (rear-naked choke) (Round 1, 2:16)
FightPass Undercard
Lucas Martins def. Robert Whiteford via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 30-27)
Jared Cannonier def. Cyril Asker via knockout (Round 1, 2:44)
Bojan Velickovic def. Alessio Di Chirico via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
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