Lewis vs. Dos Santos aims to please with knock out power and skill
Fight fans across the globe are gearing up for a War in Wichita Saturday night, as the one-punch wonder Derrick Lewis prepares to do battle with the Brazilian heavyweight Junior Dos Santos at UFC Fight Night 146 live on ESPN+.
Derrick Lewis is coming into this fight looking to regain momentum after having his 3-win streak violently brought to a halt by Daniel Cormier at UFC 230 last November. Dos Santos, however, stands in Lewis’ way as the -220 favorite. Dos Santos also seems to have the numbers on his side, with ESPN reporting that the Brazilian brawler has stopped a whopping 80 percent of his opponents’ takedown attempts while Lewis has only managed to land around 23 percent of the takedown’s he’s attempted in his UFC career.
Dos Santos also holds the UFC record for the most knockdowns landed by a heavyweight with 13, but Lewis has a shot at scoring a knockdown victory of his own – in four of his last nine fight Dos Santos was knocked to the ground, and in each instance he lost the bout.
Dos Santos and Lewis aren’t the only fighters clashing at UFC Fight Night 146, however, and the pair are sharing the headline with welterweight warriors Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos and Curtis Millender. Zaleski dos Santos is entering the octagon with an impressive 6-win streak and a record of 20-5-0, winning 70% of his bouts by knockout. Millender, however, is no pushover. The American-born athlete is 3-0 in the UFC with victories over Siyar Bahadurzada, Max Griffin, and Thiago Alves, and he has an impressive 17-3 career record after stints in Bellator, Legacy, Light’s Out, and Fight Club OC. The vast majority of Millender’s wins have been by decision, which accounts for roughly 65% of his previous victories, but keep and eye out for his deadly legwork. Millender won his final two bouts in the Legacy Fighting Alliance via head kick, and he took down Thiago Alves in his UFC debut with a deadly knee to the chin.
Heavyweight Ben Rothwell will also be making a return performance at UFC Fight Night 146, going up against the Bulgarian Sambo specialist Blagoy Ivanov after a three-year absence following an injury and a failed drug test. Ivanov lost against headliner Junior Dos Santos during his UFC debut last July after successfully defending his World Series of Fighting Heavyweight Title three consecutive times, and he will be looking to score the first victory of his UFC career against Rothwell. Rothwell, however, seems determined to shake off the ghosts of the pasts and return to the octagon in a blaze of glory.
Rothwell also lost against Junior Dos Santos in the past, but he has several significant physical advantages over his adversary in Saturday’s fight. With a five-inch height and a seven-inch reach advantage, Rothwell looks great on paper. Having been out of the ring for so long, however, has been known to take its toll and Ivanov has a hard-earned reputation as a grappler and takedown-blocker, meaning that Rothwell has quite a task ahead of him if he wants to reclaim past glory.
Saturday’s preliminary fights are nothing to sneeze at either, and the Women’s Bantamweight match between Yana Kunitskaya and Marion Reneau has many fight fans eager to see the results. Kunitskaya, some may remember, had her UFC debut against the legendary Cris Cyborg, and pounded into submission after just four minutes at UFC 222. The Russian slugger managed to score a victory by decision against Lina Lansberg prior to the infamous Khabib-McGregor fight at UFC 229, and she is looking to finally put her lost to Cris Cyborg behind her at UFC Fight Night 146.
Her opponent, Marion Reneau, is a UFC veteran who’s been in the league since 2015 and most recently lost by decision against Cat Zingano last July. She also put up a solid performance against Holly Holm back in 2015, and fought Bethe Correia to a draw during UFC Fight Night 106.
Welterweight Anthony Rocco Martin is also looking to put on a show this Saturday, going head to head with Sergio Moraes. Rocco will be looking to build upon the momentum of the 3-victory win streak he’s currently riding, but the 36-year old veteran Moraes seems determined to bring that streak to a halt. Both men are Brazilian jiu-jitsu experts, and Moraes seems like he has something to prove in this fight.
“I believe I should be fighting ranked athletes. I also believe I should be in the top 15.” Moraes recently told reporters. “My only loss is to Kamaru Usman, who just became the new champion. I finished Neil Magny, who is in the top 15. So I think I already earned a spot there, but I’ll think about this fight first, then I’ll worry about the rankings.”
A win against Martin Saturday night might just mean Moraes’ ticket to the ranked world, so this fight is definitely one to keep our eyes on.
Prelims air at 5pm Eastern Time on ESPN+, and the main card is set to kick off at 8. Don’t miss it!
