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UFC Fight Night 185 bonuses: Derrick Lewis earns extra $50,000 after brutal knockout

By MMA Junkie Staff
February 21, 2021 12:07 am

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/lists/ufc-fight-night-185-bonuses-derrick-lewis-earns-extra-50000-after-brutal-knockout

Derrick Lewis defends extra punches in UFC Fight Night 185 knockout of Curtis Blaydes

Derrick Lewis defended his extra punches after dropping Curtis Blaydes with a perfect uppercut in the UFC Fight Night 185 main event.

Lewis (25-7 MMA, 16-5 UFC) tied the UFC’s all-time knockout record Saturday when he delivered a “KO of the Year” contender on Blaydes (14-3 MMA, 9-3 UFC) in the second round of their heavyweight headliner at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

After connecting with a clean shot, Lewis dove on top of a stiff and already unconscious Blaydes and landed a pair of haymakers before referee Herb Dean could step in. It was well within the rules, but were they “super necessary,” as Jorge Masvidal would say?

“I can’t just turn the switch off just like that,” Lewis told reporters, including MMA Junkie, post-fight. “Some fighters can do that, but I can’t do it. I have to wait until the referee pulled me off because you never know what could happen. Anything could happen. He could’ve turned into (The) Undertaker and stood straight up and eat all those shots. You never know. You go until the referee says, ‘Chill out.’”

Blaydes ultimately got up after the stoppage and left the octagon under his own power. Lewis said he was happy for that, but he wasn’t surprised to see the fight end with his opponent staring up at the lights.

It wasn’t all smooth sailing up to that point, though. Blaydes was having major success with his striking in the first round and in the early stages of the second, too.

Lewis said he never panicked, and he actually felt the momentum was trending in his favor as the minutes wore on.

“At the end of the first round I’m like, ‘He’s messing up, he’s messing up,’” Lewis said. “That’s what I was saying in my head. His coach was trying to pump his head up, ‘Good, good. You’re doing good.’ I’m like, ‘All right, keep playing that game.’ That’s what I was saying to myself. The second round came, and I knew he was going to try to come out and stand up a little bit, and then he was trying to shoot. So I just had to be patient.”

The finishing blow was about as flawlessly timed of an uppercut that’s ever occurred inside the octagon. Blaydes telegraphed a takedown attempt, and Lewis blasted him clean with his right fist to match Vitor Belfort’s all-time record for most UFC knockouts with his 12th.

Lewis said he believed that if he won, it would be in that fashion, adding that the uppercut was a focal point of his training camp going into his original date with Blaydes in November, and then continuing into UFC Fight Night 185.

“All I was waiting on was just for him to shoot,” Lewis said. “Was just waiting for him to shoot and nothing else. We knew it was coming. … (My coaches and I), that’s what we’ve been drilling all month. Twelve weeks, really. Trying to get prepared for that guy.”

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2021/02/ufc-fight-night-185-derrick-lewis-responds-criticism-extra-punches-curtis-blaydes

Derrick Lewis knockout tops UFC Vegas 19 bonuses

UFC Vegas 19 was chock full of heavyweight bouts on Saturday night, and the heavyweights delivered. Three of them, in fact, nabbed UFC Vegas 19 bonuses.

UFC Vegas 19 Performance of the Night: Derrick Lewis

Leading the charge on the bonuses was Derrick Lewis, who tied a UFC record by knocking out Curtis Blaydes in the main event.

Blaydes looked like he was controlling the fight before he charged in for a takedown, running smack into a Lewis uppercut that put his lights out.

The victory moved Lewis into a tie with Vitor Belfort for the most knockout victories in UFC history with 12. Not only did he tie a record, Lewis also earned a $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus. It was one of four such bonuses handed out with no Fight of the Night bonus awarded.

Derrick Lewis clinches Curtis Blaydes at UFC Vegas 19

UFC Vegas 19 Performance of the Night: Chris Daukaus

In just his third fight in the Octagon, Chris Daukaus scored the biggest win of his career with a knockout of Aleksei Oleinik just 1:55 into their main card bout.

Oleinik wanted to take the fight to the ground, his wheelhouse, but Daukaus wouldn’t let him. He cracked Oleinik and unleashed a fury of punches until the fight was stopped.

The Performance of the Night display was Daukaus’s third first-round finish in three UFC bouts.

UFC Vegas 19 results - Chris Daukaus stops Aleksei Oleinik — Chris Daukaus unloads on Aleksei Oleinik at UFC Vegas 19

UFC Vegas 19 Performance of the Night: Tom Aspinall

Much like Daukaus, Tom Aspinall notched the most important win of his career, as he took out former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski in the UFC Vegas 19 main card opener.

Aspinall stormed Arlovski with punches in the first round, but couldn’t put him away. Early in the second frame, he shifted gears and secured a rear-naked choke that ended the fight and earned Aspinall a $50,000 bonus.

UFC Vegas 19 results - Tom Aspinall defeats Andrei Arlovski — Tom Aspinall punches Andrei Arlovski at UFC Vegas 19

UFC Vegas 19 Performance of the Night: Aiemann Zahabi

Aiemann Zahabi was in the second bout of the UFC Vegas 19 fight card, setting the tone for a night that ended with eight finishes.

Zahabi deftly avoided a Drako Rodriguez uppercut, only to counter with a straight right hand that put Rodriguez down and out on the canvas.

The victory snapped a two-fight losing streak for Zahabi and earned him a Performance of the Night award.

Aimann Zahabi cracks Drako Rodriguez at UFC Vegas 19

Article source: https://www.mmaweekly.com/derrick-lewis-knockout-tops-ufc-vegas-19-bonuses

Derrick Lewis addresses late KO shots on Curtis Blaydes at UFC Vegas 19

Derrick Lewis appeared to be on the back foot against Curtis Blaydes at UFC Vegas 19 on Saturday night. He turned the tables when Blaydes made a mistake in round two, shooting for a takedown, but leaving his chin open for a Lewis uppercut.

That uppercut put Blaydes out cold on the canvas. But even after he dropped, Lewis stormed in and dropped two more punches before referee Herb Dean could step in and wave off the fight.

At the UFC Vegas 19 post-fight press conference, Lewis addressed those final two punches that have drawn criticism from fans that blame him and others that blame Dean, while others still saw nothing wrong with them.

Watch Lewis’s post-fight press conference interview, where he addressed those final blows, the fight in general, Jon Jones jumping the line to a heavyweight title shot, and more.

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Article source: https://www.mmaweekly.com/derrick-lewis-addresses-late-ko-shots-on-curtis-blaydes-at-ufc-vegas-19