The UFC hits Sao Paulo this weekend as Derrick Lewis aims to halt the impressive Jailton Almeida in his tracks in enemy territory.
Almeida is considered one of the best up-and-comers in the heavyweight division, with many expecting him to go on to fight for UFC gold against the likes of Tom Aspinall, Ciryl Gane, and Sergei Pavlovich in the future. First, though, Almeida will have to face off against the man with the most knockouts in UFC history.
Derrick Lewis is ‘The Black Beast’
Derrick Lewis has been a professional mixed martial artist for the last 13 years. A string of impressive and destructive knockout victories saw Lewis claim the gold in Legacy FC. Lewis would defend the title before receiving the call from the UFC. Two first-round stoppages got Lewis off to a great start before he ran into Matt Mitrione. Mitrione handed Lewis his first defeat with a knockout of his own in the very first round.
It took Derrick Lewis eight fights in the UFC before going to his first points decision, a victory over Roy Nelson. Without listing every fight Derrick Lewis has had, here are some of the more marquee names in what is a who’s who of resumes. Mark Hunt, Marcin Tybura, Francis Ngannou, Alexander Volkov, Daniel Cormier, Junior Dos Santos, Aleksei Oleinik. And there’s more… Curtis Blaydes, Ciryl Gane, Tai Tuivasa, and Sergei Pavlovich.
My point here, well, there are two… One is that Derrick Lewis does not say no to anybody. He will fight anyone. Anywhere. Anytime. Lewis has a tremendous amount of experience at the very highest level of this game. Lewis isn’t looking to grind out a points victory. He’s looking to take your head off. It is very much, a, you go, or I go approach. One which has certainly made him a fan favorite over the years.
The man holds a victory over the former champion Francis Ngannou. He holds wins over top contenders like Alexander Volkov and Curtis Blaydes. Yet, if you look at the list of names above, Lewis has lost as many as he has won. In fact, Lewis has lost exactly half of his last twelve fights and is 2-4 in his last six.
Despite this, Derrick Lewis remains a threat, as he showed last time out with a flying knee from the opening bell, followed by some vicious ground & pound to Marcos Rogerio de Lima.
Who Wins?
If you want my prediction, I’m going with Almeida, by whichever method he chooses on the night. Lewis can be hurt, we’ve seen it before but I don’t expect that will be the route Almeida goes with here. A black belt in BJJ, Almeida has an impressive twelve submission wins from only nineteen fights. It is highly likely that Almeida will look to take this one to the ground and submit Lewis. There are seven KO’s in there though, so don’t rule out an Almeida TKO.
The Caveat
It’s Derrick Lewis.
Need I say more? This is a man who in his MMA career to date, has knocked out 22 of his 27 wins. He has also, only been submitted in two fights, ever. Those were against DC and Sergey Spivak who are both phenomenal grapplers.
Lewis is a veteran, he has 39 fights, with this one seeing him hit the 40 mark, an impressive feat for any mixed martial artist. Yes, I am backing Almeida, but even as I write this, I smile to myself. Why? It’s Derrick Lewis man, who really knows! Am I expecting Almeida to win this in a dominant fashion? Yes. What chance do I give Lewis? Maybe a 20-30% chance. Yet, would I be surprised if Derrick Lewis absolutely runs through Jailton Almeida? Not. Even. Remotely.
As with any Derrick Lewis fight… ever (with the exception of the Francis Ngannou fight) DO NOT BLINK!!!
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images
