A striking lover’s dream will serve as the UFC Wichita main event, with Derrick Lewis facing Junior Dos Santos at the March card.
The UFC has started 2019 by putting together some truly marquee match-ups. That train kept rolling on Monday, as news broke that Junior Dos Santos and Derrick Lewis were being targeted to headline UFC Wichita this March. The promotion’s first trip to the Kansas city was announced during the UFC 232 broadcast. MMA Junkie was first to report the main event pairing, noting the verbal agreements between the fighters are in place.
It’s the latest bout along the comeback trail for Dos Santos, who last year headlined UFC Lincoln and UFC Adelaide against Blagoy Ivanov and Tai Tuivasa, respectively. The former champ won both meetings, earning a decision against Ivanov and a TKO against Tuivasa. Dos Santos (20-5) suffered a defeat at the hands of then-champ Stipe Miocic at UFC 211 the previous year, but with Daniel Cormier holding the title, the Brazilian ex-champ is once again in title contention.
Derrick Lewis, of course, is the most recent challenger for the UFC heavyweight championship, coming up short against Daniel Cormier at UFC 230. More importantly, of course, he cemented himself as a UFC legend with the most awe-inspiring post-fight interview of all time at UFC 229.
Hot balls aside, the heavy-handed Lewis (21-6, 1NC) is 9-3 in his last 12 fights. He holds wins over Alexander Volkov, Francis Ngannou, Roy Nelson, and Gabriel Gonzaga, among others. The UFC Wichita main event slot gives Lewis another chance to shine, should he be able to get the better of the former champion.
UFC Wichita (UFC on ESPN+ 4 / UFC Fight Night 146) takes place March 9 at the Intrust Bank Arena in Wichita, Kansas.
