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Curtis Blaydes made no apologies for his strategy in a massive heavyweight fight with Derrick Lewis. Blaydes was going to use his dominant wrestling early and often. He told anyone who wanted to listen to him.
Maybe it was a decoy. But Blaydes should have stuck with his original game plan, as Lewis crushed him with a 1:26 second round knockout uppercut at the UFC Fight Night main event in Las Vegas.
Blaydes gained confidence in the first round and only attempted one out, which Lewis stuffed. And Lewis, one of the most dangerous knockout artists in MMA history, made him pay.
It was the biggest surprise at a UFC main event since Michael Bisping defeated Luke Rockhold at UFC 199 in 2016, according to ESPN Stats & Information research. Lewis was a +350 underdog, per Caesars William Hill, ESPN’s odds provider. Bisping was +400 against Rockhold five years ago.
With the save, Lewis ties Vitor Belfort with the most knockouts in UFC history (12). Lewis is now tied for the second most wins in UFC heavyweight history (16) with Frank Mir. Andrei Arlovski is the all-time UFC heavyweight leader with 19.
Saturday’s finish came when Blaydes ducked out, trying to close the distance for a clinch or withdrawal. Lewis saw it coming and went wild with a massive uppercut. Blaydes’ body shook on impact and he was unconscious when he fell to the canvas. Lewis followed on the field with punches until referee Herb Dean came in and pulled him out.
“It was the one punch I expected in the whole fight,” Lewis said. “I knew he was going to come in. … That’s all I expected. I didn’t worry about throwing a brace, a jab or whatever.”
Blaydes was very effective in the first round on the feet, landing tough combinations and chewing on Lewis’ lead legs with kicks. He ended up passing Lewis 28-7 on important strikes. Lewis landed an early hard right hand that briefly faltered Blaydes, but otherwise Blaydes was in control.
This is how the second round began as well, but Lewis is still a threat to put an opponent to sleep. And Blaydes got caught with a bomb from an uppercut.
Blaydes didn’t land a single strikeout in the bout. He’s had 59 career retirements from the UFC, the most in UFC heavyweight history.
“At the end of the first round I thought to myself, he missed, he missed,” Lewis said of Blaydes failing to make a pullout. “That’s what I was saying in my head… I was like, okay, keep playing this game. That’s what I was telling myself.”
The fight was originally scheduled for November 28, but Blaydes tested positive for COVID-19, and the contest was withdrawn a day before the event before the official weigh-ins. Coming in, ESPN had Blaydes ranked No.3 and Lewis ranked No.5 in the world in heavyweight.
Francis Ngannou secures the next title against champion Stipe Miocic at UFC 260 on March 27 and ledger Jon Jones appears to be waiting behind the scenes for the winner. Lewis is now in pole position in case something happens with any of these athletes, but he said it would be ridiculous to say he wanted a next shot for the title given that Ngannou and Jones are ahead him.
Lewis instead said he wanted to fight Alistair Overeem next despite Overeem having just suffered a knockout loss to Alexander Volkov.
“It will be cool to fight him, because he’s a so-called legend,” he said. “It would be cool to fight someone like that. … We’ve been trying to fight him for years and he’s already turned down the fight four times.”
UFC Fight Night was held at UFC Apex, the venue for the promotion across from its corporate campus in Las Vegas.
Lewis (25-7, 1 NC) has won four straight victories. He had just won a KO victory over Aleksei Oleinik in August. The Houston resident had the most knockouts in UFC heavyweight history already before Saturday. Lewis, a 36-year-old fan favorite, won seven of nine and 13 of 16 overall.
Blaydes (14-3, 1 NC) had won four straight wins and recently beat Alexander Volkov by unanimous decision last June. The Illinois native, who trains from the Colorado Elevation Fighting Team, had lost to just one man in the UFC before Saturday: Ngannou, twice.
Blaydes, 30, is a former NJCAA national wrestling champion and generally touts his style based on withdrawal and ground control in MMA.
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