The UFC Heavyweight title will be on the line Saturday, November 3 in New York’s Madison Square Garden when champion Daniel Cormier defends the crown against Derrick Lewis.
Cormier (DC), is one of the elder statesmen in the UFC but is far from ‘over the hill’ boasting an impressive record of 21-1. He has defeated the likes of Stipe Miocic and Dan Henderson during a career that started in 2013.
Derrick Lewis appears to be suitable future Heavyweight Champion and his reign could begin this weekend. Lewis fought only a month ago defeating Alexander Volkov in the infamous UFC 229 that featured the Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov riot. It is an amazing effort for Lewis to refocus and turn his attention to a new challenge in such a short space of time.
Lewis is a power puncher who has a deadly right and known for landing big hits which could literally cause headaches for Cormier on the weekend. The 33-year-old began fighting in the UFC in 2014 and after 15 bouts, has a record of 12-3.
The pre-match hype has been very low key with the opponents spending most of the press conferences with jokes and laughter rather than trash talking. Lewis has become a fan favourite due to his entertaining insights, he had the world in stitches after removing his pants following his victory over Volkov because his “balls were hot”.
Lewis was nothing short of punished against Volkov in UFC 229. For three rounds Lewis resembled a punching bag until he landed a knockout strike with only 20 seconds remaining in the last round.
Cormier has been open about trying to build his legacy before retiring in 2019, the same year he turns 40. There are only a few months left to make money and although a title defense against Brock Lesnar was predicted, they managed to throw enough money at Cormier to take on Lewis at short notice. DC has been working alongside UFC broadcasters of late but that doesn’t mean he’s finished in the octagon.
Cormier is the favourite to take out the fight with Lewis the underdog. Cormier has the talent and ability to wear down his opponent while Lewis will be relying on landing a big blow early in the rounds. The cardio fitness of Lewis is always a talking point, but the quick turnaround should see him in good order. He isn’t the most skilled fighter, but his physical strength makes it difficult to match up against. Cormier carries an injured hand into the fight and will look to wrestle and grind his way to victory.
The Sporting Base prediction – Cormier to win, stoppage in the third round.
