Derrick Lewis survived onslaught after onslaught against Alexander Volkov at UFC 229, coming back in the third round to knock the Russian fighter out with seconds left in the fight. And then, the ‘Black Beast’ unleashed his patented sense of humor.
On Saturday, heavyweights Derrick Lewis and Alexander Volkov squared off in a three round war at UFC 229 in the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, NV. Lewis came in with confidence after handing Francis Ngannou the second defeat of his career, albeit in a plodding affair. Volkov for his part entered the night with an unblemished UFC record with notable wins over Roy Nelson, Stefan Struve and Fabrício Werdum. The Russian had won six straight overall.
There was a possible shot at heavyweight gold on the line, depending on how things played out with Daniel Cormier and Brock Lesnar. High stakes, and knockout power in both men. A promising combination.
Both fighter met in center early at UFC 229, and looked tentative until Lewis jumped in with an overhand that just missed. Volkov then moved forward, landing a shot and hurting Lewis. Volkov swarmed and Lewis survived, but it was only a moment before Volkov landed another hard shot that hurt Lewis again. The two separated, and with some confusion a break in the action took place. Lewis signaled as if he’d been poked in the eye, and actually turned away from the fight briefly, while Volkov actually called for a break. The ref checked on Lewis for any damage from the eye poke. Back underway, Lewis looked attempted to shoot in feet first, thinking leg attack or takedown. Volkov was able to defend; they scrambled and Lewis caught Volkov on the break. Volkov answered by landing a trip that landed him in side control, and he quickly transitioned to the back of Lewis until Lewis rolled out. He wound up on top where he began to unload punches on the downed Volkov as the round came to an end.
In the second, Volkov came out stalking Lewis and immediately landed a hard punch that hurt ‘The Black Beast’ and sent him retreating. Lewis quickly recovered but Volkov kept putting on the pressure. Lewis was continually pawing at his eye, with a possible orbital injury. Volkov landed a stiff left jab that looked to hurt Lewis again. The Russian then fired a right, while Lewis answered back with hard left-right combo of his own. Volkov next opted to use kicks a little more, mixing up body and high kicks. Lewis responded by dashing forward with a flurry before moving out of range. Volkov continued to stalk Lewis around the cage as the round closed out.
Volkov opened the final frame with a leg kick and started moving Lewis backward again. Lewis shot for a take down that Volkov avoided. Back on their feet Lewis rushed forward, and Volkov dropped back out of range. Volkov rushed back in with flurry of his own that looked to have hurt Lewis again, but he recovered quickly. Only for Volkov to land another shot that Hurt Lewis once again. Again Lewis recovered and Volkov continued to stalk him around the cage. Volkov opened up with more leg kicks again until Lewis rushed forward looking to land the big shot that sent Volkov retreating. The tempo once again slowed and Lewis launched a huge overhand that sent Volkov in retreat. With seconds ticking away, Lewis moved forward again landing a crushing over hand right that sent Volkov sprawling to the canvas. Lewis seized his chance and rained punches on a downed Volkov, a storm of massive blows that brought an end to the fight.
The punch that set it all up ..@TheBeast_UFC #UFC229 pic.twitter.com/htDdD2cpLt
— UFC (@ufc) October 7, 2018
An incredibly gutsy win by Derrick Lewis, who had been hurt several times during the fight. Afterwards, he stripped out of his fight shorts, only to tell Joe Rogan “my balls was hot” when asked why. He’d later quip that he needed to get the win for President Trump, saying “Donald Trump called me a couple hours ago and told me to knock that Russian muthaf*cka out.” Lewis, frankly, is the national treasure of the MMA nation.
Derrick Lewis def. Alexander Volkov by knockout, Round 3, 4:49
