UFC 226 results: Derrick Lewis expels Francis Ngannou in a heavy snooze-worthy stalemate

It seemed like a fight that could not fail to spark some excitement. Two heavyweight KO artists, both with a reputation for violent finishes.

Then Derrick Lewis and Francis Ngannou found a way to spend three full rounds without ever being close to hurting anyone except themselves.

Lewis (20-5 MMA, 11-3 UFC) won a unanimous decision, mainly by offering at least one attack, which was enough to rule out Ngannou (11-3 MMA, 6-2 UFC), who put forward almost none

The heavyweight bout was the main event of the UFC 226 presented today at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. It was broadcast in pay-per-view following the preliminary rounds on FS1 and UFC Fight Pbad.

This was the weird result that no one saw coming. A fight that seemed unlikely at the end of the first round took place one way or another, and there was almost no fight during those 15 minutes.

After a slow first round that seemed like a prolonged feeling process, Lewis returned.

In the middle of a second round that saw no improvement in offensive production, referee Herb Dean actually suspended the fight to warn both men of their shyness

. in action, with Ngannou finally taking a few steps forward and being willing to let some strikes fly, but by then there was too late. The crowd showered both fighters with boos, and Lewis could only shake his head as he was announced the winner with scores of 29-28, 29-28 and 30-27.

Lewis has now won two straight since losing TKO to Mark Hunt last June. Ngannou lost twice in a row for the first time in his professional career.

The latest results from UFC 226 include:

• Derrick Lewis defeated. Francis Ngannou by split decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
• Mike Perry def. Paul Felder by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
• Anthony Pettis def. Michael Chiesa via submission (triangle armbar) – 2nd round, 0:52
• Khalil Rountree def. Gokhan Saki by KO (punches) – First round, 1:36
• Paulo Costa def. Uriah Hall through the intermediary of TKO (punches) – Round 2, 2:38
• Raphael Assuncao def. Rob Font by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Drakkar Klose def. Lando Vannata by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Curtis Millender def. Max Griffin by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Dan Hooker def. Gilbert Burns by KO (hits) – Round 1, 2:28
• Emily Whitmire def. Jamie Moyle by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

For full coverage of UFC 226, see the UFC Events section of the site.

(Mike Bohn, John of MMAjunkie Morgan and Ken Hathaway contributed to this on-site report in Las Vegas.)