Matchmaker Monday following UFC Vegas 45
UFC Vegas 45 closed out the year for the UFC and it ended with history.
In the main event, Derrick Lewis set a record for most knocks out in UFC history when he finished Chris Daukaus in the first round.
The win puts Lewis back into the title picture and while he celebrates the thrill of victory, Daukaus feels the agony of defeat and will look to bounce back.
Lets find out what’s next for both of the men involved in the final main event of 2021 on this last edition of Matchmaker Monday until 2022.
Derrick Lewis
Next: loser of Francis Ngannou and Cyril Gane
Lewis keeps on winning.
Things haven’t gone well for him in title bouts as he’s now 0-2 on the biggest stage of them all, but in main event slots, he’s still performing at a high level.
Following the fight, UFC president Dana White said he wants Lewis to be ready in case something happens to Ngannou or Gane at UFC 270 in January. If somethings happens and Lewis fills is subbed into the fight in January it will mark his third title shot and in the meantime, it also signals what is probably his best way of getting a title shot.
Former champion Stipe Miocic, who is considered the heavyweight GOAT at this moment in time makes a great argument to get a title fight, especially since him and Ngannou each have wins over one another making a trilogy fight huge.
Also lets not forget Jon Jones is eyeing a chance at the heavyweight king sometime in the summer.
Both Miocic and Jones will mostly jump Lewis. Luckily, Lewis holds a win over Ngannou and if Ngannou wins in January that keeps Lewis in serious consideration.
Regardless of the outcome of UFC 270, the best bet on the next opponent for Lewis is the loser of Ngannou and Gane as its a huge fight, but not a championship fight.
Chris Daukaus
Next: Tai Tuivasa
Daukaus as plenty of options on the table.
For starters, he recently told MyMMANews in an interview that he is lean and can make light heavyweight. If he ever made that move, he will be a huge problem in that division.
However, Daukaus has made it clear in the lead up to UFC Vegas 45 that he loves being heavyweight and he believes he’s going be one of best in that division for a long time so a move down a weight class is highly unlikely.
As for what’s next there’s two options in play.
The UFC thinks highly of Daukaus and a loss to Lewis should not set him back too much and there’s a good chance the UFC may match him up with an opponent ranked in front of him like Curtis Blaydes, Alexander Volkov or Jairzinho Rozenstruik.
If the UFC does want to pump the breaks on him for a moment since he’s coming off a loss, an opponent like Tuivasa makes sense since Tuivasa is a big fan favorite and has looked great in his last two outings.
While I’m leaning towards the Tuivasa route for Daukaus, don’t be surprised at the other option laid out here. A lot of how this plays out is timing and with cards still being built for early next year, Daukaus can slip right back into another big matchup.
