UFC 226 results: Derrick Lewis expels Francis Ngannou into a deadlock worthy of a snooze

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 Pass.

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.

"Nobody wants to win a fight like this," said Lewis. "My back was giving me problems before the fight and I did not have the mobility I needed.The plan was to put pressure on him and put him against the cage, but I did not have the mobility I needed. I do not have the mobility to do it, I feel terrible. "

Lewis has now won two straight games since losing TKO to Mark Hunt in June, and Ngannou lost two times in a row for the first time in his 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 defeated Michael Chiesa via submission (triangle armbar) – 2nd round, 0:52
• Khalil Rountree def. Gokhan Saki by KO (punches) – Round 1, 1:36
• Paulo Costa defeated Uriah Hall through the intermediary of TKO (punches) – Round 2, 2:38 [19659015] 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.)