The Film Room: Derrick Lewis
UFC 229 is now available on Amazon Prime.
On the heels of his participation in one of the worst fights in MMA history, Derrick Lewis undoubtedly wants to regain his reputation as one of the most exciting competitors in the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s heavyweight division with a win over Alexander Volkov at UFC 229 on Saturday in Las Vegas.
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After an amazingly disappointing showdown with Francis Ngannou in July, many expect Lewis to show up in prime form in order to save his reputation as the “swangin’ and bangin’” heavyweight he proclaims himself to be. Before the fight with Ngannou, Lewis delivered knockouts in all but one of his 10 UFC victories, with many of those coming inside one round. As a result, he became known as one of the premier finishers in the division.
When Lewis says “swangin’ and bangin’,” it means he is not afraid to eat some punches to land a few of his own -- a fact which usually turns his fights into wild exchanges in the pocket. Lewis is not the most technical boxer, but his take-one-to-give-one mentality and ridiculous power in his hands allows him to fluster opponents and outstrike them in the pocket or along the fence.
Although known for his striking, Lewis has a strong top grappling game, and most of his knockouts have resulted from ground-and-pound. Lewis does not have the best takedowns or transitional grappling and usually finds himself in top position after hurting opponents on the feet, but despite his lack of grappling experience, he can dominate on top in certain moments due to his size and relentless ground-and-pound. Even when fighting much better grapplers, Lewis can hold his own on the ground simply by overwhelming them with strikes and not giving them the opportunity to pass guard or reverse position. Since Volkov has struggled on the ground in the past, do not be surprised if you see Lewis shooting for takedowns or doing anything he can to get this one to the mat.
Lewis has a devastating top game, but he is notoriously easy to take down and control when he is working off the bottom. If he does find himself on the bottom, he often looks lost and offers no submission threat off of his back. In fact, out of his 20 wins, only one is by submission and that was eight years ago against a debuting fighter. Lewis probably will not have to worry about takedowns against Volkov, but he must work on his defensive grappling if he wants to compete at the highest levels of the heavyweight division.
Lewis has only been knocked out three times in his career -- not a lot for a heavyweight nearly 10 years into his career -- and has proven plenty of times that he has a ridiculous chin and recoverability after being hurt. Although known for his standing and trading style, he has only been hit with 209 significant strikes in 14 UFC appearances; that is an average of only 14 strikes per fight. To put that number in perspective, fellow heavyweight Augusto Sakai landed 111 significant strikes on Chase Sherman two weeks ago UFC Fight Night 137 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. That number is more than half the strikes Lewis has absorbed in four years with the UFC. With the heavyweight division as bleak as ever, the winner of this fight most likely moves to the top of the pack to challenge whoever ends up with the heavyweight championship. At only 33 years of age, it is not crazy to think Lewis could be on the verge of being the best heavyweight in the world.
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