Curtis Blaydes apologized for his strategy of fighting a big heavyweight fight with Derrick Lewis. Blaydes would use his dominant wrestling early and regularly. He told everyone who wanted to listen.
Maybe it was a decoy. But Blaydes should have kept to his original game plan as Lewis crushed him with a big knockout blow at 1:26 of the second round during a UFC Fight Night in Las Vegas.
Blaydes gained confidence in the first round and tried to take down only one, which filled Lewis. And Lewis, one of the most dangerous KO artists in the history of MMA, made him pay.
It was the biggest upset in a UFC main event since Michael Bisping beat Luke Rockhold at UFC 199 in 2016, according to ESPN Stats & Information. Lewis was a +350 underdog, according to Caesars Sportsbook by William Hill, ESPN’s opportunity provider. Bisping was +400 against Rockhold five years ago.
With the interruption, Lewis connects Vitor Belfort with the most knockouts in UFC history (12). Lewis is also now with Frank Mir the second second win in UFC heavyweight history (16). Andrei Arlovski is the all-time heavyweight UFC leader, with 19.
Saturday’s finish came when Blaydes dived in and tried to cover the distance for a descent or a removal. Lewis sees it coming and goes with a massive capital letter. Blaydes’ body shook and he was unconscious when he fell on the canvas. Lewis followed with blows on the ground, until referee Herb Dean came in to pull him down.
“It was the only battle I waited for the whole fight,” Lewis said. “I knew he would come in. … That’s all I’ve been waiting for. I was not worried about throwing a one-two, a jab or something. ‘
Blaydes was very effective in the first round on his feet, landed hard combinations and chewed Lewis’ front legs with kicks. In the end, he defended Lewis 28-7 in significant strikes. Lewis did land a hard right hand early on which Blaydes occasionally wavered, but otherwise Blaydes was in control.
So did the second round, but Lewis is always a threat to put an opponent to sleep. And Blaydes was caught with a capital bomb.
Blaydes did not achieve a single removal in the fight. He has landed 59 careers in the UFC, the most in UFC heavyweight history.
“At the end of the first round, I was like, ‘He’s going crazy, he did,’ ‘Lewis said of Blaydes not landing a removal.” That’s what I said in my head. had … I was like, ‘Okay, keep playing that game.’ This is what I said to myself. ‘
The match was originally scheduled for Nov. 28, but Blaydes tested positive for COVID-19, and the match was drawn a day before the event before official weigh-in.
When ESPN came in, Blaydes had the no. 3 and Lewis in fifth place in heavyweight.
Francis Ngannou is set to win the next title at champion Stipe Miocic at UFC 260 on March 27, and Jon Jones looks to be in the wings for the winner. Lewis is now in the pole position if something should happen to one of the athletes, but he said it would be foolish to say he wants a next title as Ngannou and Jones are ahead of him.
Instead, Lewis said he wanted to fight Alistair Overeem next time, despite Overeem losing a knockout blow to Alexander Volkov.
“It would be cool to fight him because he’s a so-called legend,” Lewis said. “It would be cool to fight someone like that. “We’ve been trying to fight him for years, and he’s turned down the fight four times already. ‘
UFC Fight Night took place at the UFC Apex, the promotional venue across the street from the Las Vegas Business Campus.
Lewis (25-7, 1 NC) won four consecutive games. He achieved a KO victory over Aleksei Oleinik in August. The Houston resident already had the most knockout blows in UFC heavyweight history before Saturday. Lewis, a 36-year-old fan favorite, won seven out of nine and 13 out of 16 overall.
Blaydes (14-3, 1 NC) won four consecutive games and Alexander Volkov won by a unanimous decisive victory in June. The Illinois native, who trains from Colorado’s Elevation Fight Team, lost just one man in the UFC before Saturday: Ngannou, twice.
Blaydes, 30, is a former champion of the Junior Junior College Athletics Association in wrestling, and he usually demonstrates his take-off-and-ground control-based style in MMA.