What Went Wrong for Curtis Blaydes Against Derrick Lewis?

Published 02/21/2021, 10:30 PM EST

UFC Vegas 19 saw an incredible main event fight between Curtis Blaydes and Derrick Lewis. The latter beat the former via knockout in the second round after ‘Razor’ Blaydes seemed to dominate most of the fight.

Lewis didn’t seem very active, which helped Blaydes charge, and he did that while taking the center of the octagon. Later on, in his post-fight interview, Lewis said the same thing, “I couldn’t really get it going. Even in warm-ups, I couldn’t get my body going.”

The first round started with a heavy exchange, and both guys landed some shots. However, Blaydes took over from there, landing several leg kicks and punches. He also tried a takedown, but Lewis defended it quite comfortably. The #2 ranked heavyweight was in the ascendency.

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Blaydes went for a takedown again in the second round after a few exchanges on the feet, but Lewis caught him this time. He hit a devastating uppercut which knocked Blaydes out while he was standing, and Lewis landed four more shots to his head before the referee, Herb Dean, stopped the fight.

Throughout the fight, the commentator and former UFC middleweight champion, Michael Bisping, talked about the entry points that Curtis was trying to use. He said that Blaydes needed to be careful about this when he went for his takedowns.

Derrick Lewis in his post-fight interview

After the fight, Bisping asked Lewis to talk him through the knockout. ‘The Black Beast’ said, “That was the only punch that I was waiting for the whole fight. I knew he was gonna come in. Either the uppercut or the knee was gonna land, so that’s all I was waiting on. I don’t really care about throwing one-two a jab or anything,” he said.

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‘The Black Beast’ had a sure-shot game plan, and his mediocre first round could be attributed to this. He may have been testing the manner in which ‘Razor’ came at him to decide which would be the most effective fight ender in his arsenal.

After this victory, Lewis is now possibly a top contender for the heavyweight crown. The heavyweight belt situation will be resolved when the champion, Stipe Miocic, fights Francis Ngannou at UFC 260. On the other hand, Blaydes has lost the momentum he was coming in with and now has some new heavyweights like Tom Aspinall to worry about.

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Do you think Blaydes should have been more mindful of Lewis’ ferocious power?

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Written by:

Aniket Awasthi is a UFC author at EssentiallySports. This STEM undergraduate combines an insatiable urge to write with his admiration for MMA and the UFC in general to enhance his journalism. He calls charismatic names like Chael Sonnen and 'The Count' Michael Bisping as his favorite fighters, but he is a great admirer of the rise of Israel Adesanya ever since he fought Rob Wilkinson at UFC 221.

What Went Wrong for Curtis Blaydes Against Derrick Lewis?

Derrick Lewis in his post-fight interview

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