UFC 226: Derrick Lewis Vs. Francis Ngannou Will Be Heavyweight Bedlam.
Heavyweights Ngannou and Lewis square off at UFC 226
Who doesn’t love a heavyweight fight? There’s nothing quite like knowing you absolutely have to pay attention because this thing could be over in a split-second. As heavyweights Ngannou and Lewis square off at UFC 226 in Las Vegas, expect this fight to be no different.
This fight will be action packed from bell to bell, bell to knockout, or bell to submission. And if history is any indicator, either of the latter two scenarios seem to be the most likely outcome.
Francis Ngannou
A recent UFC Staff Report referred to Ngannou’s power as “infamous” and why not? His knockout of Alistair Overeem has been accompanied by many different adjectives including; scary, frightening, brutal, and even terrifying by Sporting News.
At 6’4″ and 250 pounds, Ngannou “The Predator”, is a monster of a human. Fighting out of Las Vegas by way of Batie, Cameroon the 31 year-old steps into the octagon with a record of 11-2 and an 83-inch reach.
Ngannou lost his last fight to the heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic who also fights Daniel Cormier the same night for the belt at UFC 226. Prior to his loss to Miocic, The Predator knocked out Bojan Mihajlovic and submitted Anthony Hamilton in 2016, then knocked out Andrei Arlovski followed by the aforementioned Overeem in 2017.
And just like a bonus on your favorite penny slot at The Red Rock, enjoy this video featuring some of Ngannou’s top knockouts just for visiting!
Derrick Lewis
“The Black Beast” fights out of Houston, Texas by way of New Orleans. The 33 year-old stands in at 6’3″ tall and weighs 260lbs. Lewis holds a 19-5 record to go with a 79-inch reach, and make no mistake, he’s a striker.
Much like Ngannou, Lewis is 4-1 in his last five fights. His loss came at the hands of Mark Hunt (Literally, a fourth round knockout) in June of 2017. Lewis beat Roy nelson by decision in 2016, then followed with a fourth round knockout of Shamil Abdurakhimov. During 2017 Lewis knocked out Travis Browne before the loss to Hunt. Rounding out his last five, Lewis knocked out Marcin Tybura in the third round back in February at Cerrone vs. Medeiros.
“The Black Beast” has a pretty impressive highlight reel of his own. Winning eight of his last ten, he has knocked out 13 in his career, and has six first round finishes. Below you’ll see some of his most fierce knockouts featured.
The Match-up
These two are looking to land big shots early, often, and always. Ngannou will be taller, and enjoy a four-inch reach advantage. This promises to be another one of those fights that could end in an instant. We’ve seen both of these guys hit an opponent so hard they’ve been out on the way down. Not to mention, Lewis has a nasty ground and pound game. This is a big boy fight, there are no two ways about it.
The Curtis Blaydes Effect
His TKO win over Alistair Overeem at UFC 225 in Chicago was gruesome.
He’s climbing the UFC heavyweight contenders list with a vengeance. Blaydes has firmly cemented himself as the number two contender, right behind Ngannou. A win by Lewis in this fight would shake up the heavyweight division more than a little bit. But tied to that, A Miocic loss at UFC 226 changes the landscape dramatically as well.
After “Razor” Blaydes’ definitive victory over Alistair he’s calling his shot in an interview with The MMA Hour that the only fight other than the winner of Miocic vs. Cormier he would accept, was a bout with Francis Ngannou.
UFC 226 should shed a lot of light on the future of the heavyweight division. Not to mention the main card’s co-main event features a featherweight title fight between champion Max Holloway and top ranked contender Brian Ortega. Be sure to catch all the UFC 226 action on Pay-Per-View.
