Derrick Lewis Stuns Curtis Blaydes, Wins Via Second-Round KO

Derrick Lewis once again proved that he is one of the best UFC heavyweight fighters knocking out cold Curtis Blaydes at the UFC Fight Night 185.

Blaydes was a massive favorite here, but he ended up suffering the nastiest loss in his career. The ones against Frances Ngannou were bad as well, but this one saw him lying stiff on the canvas, not moving at all, with Lewis landing two strikes more to confirm his win.

The Razor tried to hit Lewis, but run straight into his uppercut. There was no way for him to recover from that one, and the fight was over quickly. The time on the clock was 1:26 of the second round.

“That was the only punch I was waiting for the entire fight,” Lewis said. “I knew he was gonna come in. … That’s all I was waiting for. I wasn’t worried about throwing a one-two, a jab, or anything.”

https://twitter.com/FlyByKnite/status/1363337145562267653?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1363337145562267653%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fmmajunkie.usatoday.com%2F2021%2F02%2Fufc-fight-night-185-video-derrick-lewis-knocks-curtis-blaydes-stiff-scary-uppercut-knockout-ko

The Black Beast was inferior in the first round, having just 7 significant strikes, compared to 28 of his opponent. Blaydes was much better, and he was focusing on Lewis’ leading leg, trying to hurt it as much as possible and slow down the rival.

Interestingly, the Razor had just one takedown attempt. We expected to see more, because of his wrestling superiority, but for some unknown reason, Blaydes decided not to apply his usual tactics. Everyone expected to see him constantly trying to drag Lewis to the canvas, but it simply didn’t happen.

“At the end of the first round, I was like, ‘He’s messing up, he’s messing up,'” Lewis spoke of Blaydes’ “tactics.” “That’s what I was saying in my head … I was like, ‘All right, keep playing that game.’ That’s what I was saying to myself.”

After this fight, Lewis, who is No.5 in the UFC heavyweight rankings, is expected to go up, while on the other side, Blaydes will slip from his No.3.

This is another setback for the 30-year old who already has two losses in his CV, both against Francis Ngannou, and both pretty nasty knockouts. It seems that all the hype surrounding the Razor didn’t have a proper background and that he isn’t the fighter as many thought he is. Or at least he isn’t yet.

He was projected to be the next title challenger, and the one who would fight the winner of Stipe Miocic and Francis Ngannou. But after this battle, the American will need to get back to the basics and win a couple of more fights before earning the right to challenge the champion. Regardless of his name.

With his knockout at #UFCVegas19, Derrick Lewis tied Vitor Belfort for most knockouts in UFC history. pic.twitter.com/1pyM0mwfhR

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) February 21, 2021

As for Lewis, he is now the No.1 on the list of contenders. This was his 12h KO in UFC, which is tied-best with Vitor Belfort. However, the Black Beast didn’t speak about the title fight, but Alistair Overeem, suggesting that he wants to meet the legendary Dutchman who is coming off a KO loss against Alexander Volkov.

“It’ll be cool to fight him, because he’s a so-called legend,” Lewis said. “It would be cool to fight somebody like that. … We’ve been trying to fight him for years, and he turned down the fight four times already.”

The situation in the UFC heavyweight division will be much clearer following Miocic vs. Ngannou fight. There are already various scenarios, but that fight needs to end before receiving more answers on the potential bouts and the future of the division.