Two heavyweights at different points in their career’s come together this weekend in what could be make or break for either fighter.
Travis Browne was once considered a potential future champion when he initially burst onto the scene. Browne began his UFC stint with 5 straight wins looking impressive in each performance. The win streak was halted by Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva, after that hiccup Travis got back to winning ways defeating Gabriel Gonzaga, Alistair Overeem & Josh Barnett all by ko or tko in the first round. Those wins lead to a UFC heavyweight title eliminator against Fabricio Werdum in April 2014, the winner would face Mark Hunt for the Interim heavyweight title. Travis was bested by Fabricio and since that loss Travis has struggled to show the promise we saw in the early days suffering consecutive losses for the first time in his career. A win against Lewis would give him another opening to put together a run towards the title, a loss however will most likely be his last appearance in the UFC.
Derrick Lewis coincidentally is riding a 5 fight win streak and in the process shuffling himself higher in the heavyweight rankings. Sandwiched between Travis Browne at #9 and Mark Hunt at #7, Derrick Lewis is inching towards top 5 territory which puts him in touching distance to knock on the door for a title fight. Lewis’s last outing against Shamil Abdurakhimov was somewhat underwhelming which Lewis himself acknowledged after the fight describing it as “one of my most terrible performances of all time”, in Travis Browne though Lewis has the ideal style of opponent to showcase his ability.
Potential fight of the night
Johny Hendricks vs Hector Lombard
I’m not foreseeing a three round classic with these two, what i am expecting is an explosive fight for however long it lasts. Both these gentlemen have stunning highlight reel knockouts & this match up should produce another.
Fighter to watch
Paul Felder
Felder can blow hot & cold but on a good day he’s capable of some fantastic performances and spectacular techniques. On a card with not much going on Paul Felder could just steal the show and re establish himself in the lightweight division.