'The Black Beast' Derrick Lewis again proved why he is among the most feared power-punchers in the sport today as he scored a sensational come-from-behind knockout win in the UFC Fight Night 185 main event against Curtis Blaydes.
Few fighters in all of mixed martial arts can boast quite the same "get out of jail free" card that Lewis packs in his punches, but the veteran former UFC title challenger once again relied on his vaunted to power to score the 20th knockout win of his career against top contender Blaydes in the UFC main event in Las Vegas.
The knockout, the 20th such finish of Lewis' career, came like so many of the others - when he was down on the scorecards after Blaydes saw the best of the early exchanges, outstriking Lewis early.
Blaydes' gameplan clearly involved a grappling-heavy approach but a wily Lewis sat back and postured with various power shots when it looked as though he would attempt to employ it.
Then in the second round, with Blaydes apparently buoyed by his early success on the feet, he launched forward for a takedown only to be met with a clubbing uppercut just as he lowered his head.
Blaydes sprawled backwards and was unconscious by the time he hit the canvas in what was just the third defeat of his career - and the first time he had been beaten by a fighter not named Francis Ngannou.
For Lewis, the win draws him level with Vitor Belfort for the most knockouts in UFC history with 12, while also representing the biggest upset in a UFC main event since Michael Bisping knocked out Luke Rockhold at UFC 199 five years ago.
"I’m feeling alright," Lewis said after the fight. "The first round, second round, I couldn’t really get it going. I felt dead out there. That was the only punch I was waiting for the whole fight. The uppercut or the knee was going to land."
Before the fight, much of the talk was about Blaydes' upcoming title ambitions but the action in the Octagon late on Saturday night has swung the championship pendulum back into Lewis' favor.
As he noted in the cage after the fight, there is another prize in the UFC's heavyweight division nowadays outside of the title belt that Stipe Miocic and Ngannou will do battle for in a little over a month's time.
In any case, Lewis just likes fighting wrestlers.
"I heard Jon Jones was coming up," he said of the former 205lb champion's move to heavyweight.
"Makes no sense saying I’m going to fight for the title. I’m pretty sure [Israel Adesanya] is going to come up and fight at heavyweight. I guess [I’ll fight] Stipe [Miocic]. I like the wrestlers."
That's one way to talk your way into a world title shot.
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