Derrick Lewis lands a punch on Curtis Blaydes right before the referee stops the fight.
Derrick Lewis starches Curtis Blaydes with comeback KO
A clash of ranked heavyweights headline UFC Fight Night 185 on Saturday, Feb. 20.
The second-ranked heavyweight Curtis Blaydes searches for his fifth-straight victory against No. 4 Derrick Lewis on ESPN+. The co-main event features two-ranked women bantamweights in No. 6 Ketlen Vieira and No. 7 Yana Kunitskaya inside the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The main event of the evening featured two of the hardest strikers in the heavyweight division and they didn’t disappoint. In the opening stanza, Blaydes came forward as the aggressor for the entirety of the round. Keeping Derrick Lewis on the end of his punches, Lewis looked more refined, crisp, and clearly looked to find his rhythm.
The second round, however, is where we saw Lewis take over with a single right uppercut, starching Curtis Blaydes to the canvas, and handing him his 3rd professional defeat.
Here’s how the heavyweight main event played out between Curtis Blaydes and Derrick Lewis played out at UFC 185 including round-by-round scoring. For full results of the event, check them out right here.
Round 1: Both heavyweights clash briefly during an exchange. Blaydes switches levels as Lewis swings with visions intentions, forcing Blaydes to reassess. Blaydes reset and began to pressure Lewis against the fence for a bigger portion of the round. Blaydes continuously pawing jab, keeping Lewis on the outside. Lewis fires a leg kick. Blaydes continues walking Lewis down, putting his back against the fence. Lewis blitzes off of the cage looking to get into the contest any way he can. Blaydes head movement, counter-punching, and jab is laying out the blueprint of what could continue to come. Blaydes strings together a solid combination, hurting Lewis. Blaydes has Lewis backing up in a straight line, landing a flying knee followed by a successful elbow over the top. At the end of the round, Lewis turned his back, briefly. Blaydes wasted no time, pouncing, trying to capitalize on Lewis’ mistake, throwing a strike that would ultimately be ruled an eye poke due to his open hand.
MyMMANews.com scores round 1 for Blaydes. 10-9
Round 2: Neither fighter wastes time swinging heavily from the start of the round. Blaydes shoots for his first takedown of the night to no avail. Blades works his angles, switches levels for the takedown once more and Lewis blasts Blaydes with an uppercut that puts him to sleep immediately. Not knowing his foe was out, Lewis landed a few extra for good measure before the referee intervened to call a stop to this main event.
Official result: Derick Lewis wins via KO at 1:26 of round 2.
