FSM Essential Recap: UFC Fight Night - Lewis vs Oleinik - 8/8/2020

FSM Essential Recap: UFC Fight Night – Lewis vs Oleinik – 8/9/2020

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Another night of fights are in the books as the UFC returned to its APEX center in Las Vegas to host UFC Fight Night.

 

In the main event, we saw The Black Beast Derek Lewis (24-7 19 KOs) finish Aleksei Oleinik via second-round TKO. The TKO finish makes Lewis the new record holder for most knockouts in the UFC Heavyweight division, breaking a tie with former champions Cain Velasquez and Junior Dos Santos.

 

In the classic grappler vs. striker matchup, this fight would be determined by who can inflict their will on their opponent first and often. Oleinik looked to get things to the mat and even had Lewis in a bulldog hold for awhile looking to see if he could get the big man to panic and tap. But much to Lewis’ credit, he showed the heart and determination he has shown through his career that has made him one of the biggest fan-favorite fighters on the roster.

Add the knee surgery that Lewis said “makes him feel like he can live up to his potential,” he wasn’t about to let anybody take this chance in the main event from him. Fighting out of the hold and returning to the feet, The Black Beast would look to keep things standing and find an opening to end the night.

 

Lewis has almost perfected is his flying knee to the body. He looked for Oleinik to be in retreat mode slightly, but not quite moving away so fast that he couldn’t lunge forward with that flying knee to the body. By making this move, Lewis closes the distance rather quickly on his foe, a man his size with his power flying towards you with a knee isn’t an ideal situation, so it caused Oleinik to cover up for the initial blow then retreat.

But Lewis throws the knee as a setup. As he lands, he quickly unloaded a massive left hook, which caught Oleinik as he was looking to move back instead of playing defense. And when you hit as hard as Lewis, it doesn’t take much to drop somebody. Jumping on his downed opponent, Lewis would land some shots as Oleinik looked to grab a leg in hopes of holding on, but this would not be the case. The ref stepped in and called the bout.

 

Picking up his third win in a row, finding new life with his knee, and a sense of refocused energy into his training, Derek Lewis now the sole holder of the most knockouts in the division. Lewis has set himself up in a prime position to have a bout to determine who’s the next challenger for the title after Francis Ngannou. With Ngannou waiting for the winner of Stipe Miocic vs. Daniel Cormier, Lewis could see himself facing against the man ranked right above him, Curtis Blaydes (Lewis is 4th and Blaydes in 3rd in the division).

If for some reason, that bout can’t happen, maybe a showdown with one of the games most accomplished and deadly strikers, Alistair Overeem, could come about. Either way, if Lewis can keep this up, he’s no more than two fights away from getting another shot at the title.

 

 

In the night’s co-main event, former Middleweight champion Chris Weidman (15-5) get back in the winner’s circle via unanimous decision over Omari Akhmedov (20-5).

 

 

The former champ returned to 185lbs after losing his Light Heavyweight debut and wanted to see if he still had what it took to be a top contender in a division of which he once the champion. Gaining the win not only gives Weidman a boost of confidence but now helps him feel that regardless of his losses, he still has something to offer at 185.

In his post-fight interview, he said he’s coming for the rest of the guys in the division, so if he can find that groove that drove him to the top of the mountain before, fighters at 185 have a storm coming out of Long Island that they’d better get ready for.

 

 

 

We saw fantastic knockouts, wild scrambles, former champs getting their hand raised, and records being set. Just another typical night of great UFC fights. Be sure to stay tuned on franchisesportsmedia.com for the latest in MMA and #LasVegasSports.

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-Kalani Lua – Franchise Sports Media

 

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