Fresh off his win at UFC 266, Chris Daukaus will look to take out a top-five heavyweight.
ESPN was first to report the news that No. 3 ranked heavyweight Derrick Lewis will fight Daukaus in the main event of the December 18 UFC event. A source close to the situation subsequently confirmed the fight to Cageside Press.
Daukaus (12-3) will headline his first UFC event after coming off a second-round knockout off Shamil Abdurakhimov this past weekend. The Philadelphia fighter has been on fire since signing with the organization last year. He has finished all four of his opponents and has received Performance of the Night bonuses in his three last fights. In addition, Daukaus is riding a five-fight win streak overall.
Lewis (25-8-1) is coming off a heavyweight interim title loss to Ciryl Gane. “The Black Beast” was finished in the third round. The loss to Gane snapped his four-fight winning streak, which included knockout wins over Curtis Blaydes and Aleksei Oleinik.
No location, venue, or broadcast plan has been officially announced for the December 18 event, but UFC President Dana White said that all Fight Nights would be staying at the Apex in Las Vegas, NV.
The December 18 card only has two other fights scheduled thus far.
- Derrick Lewis vs. Chris Daukaus
- Amanda Lemos vs. Nina Ansaroff
- Anthony Hernandez vs. Dustin Stoltzfus
- Don’Tale Mayes vs. Josh Parisian
- Raphael Assunção vs. Ricky Simón
- Gerald Meerschaert vs. Abusupiyan Magomedov
- Jordan Leavitt vs. Matt Sayles
- Justin Tafa vs. Harry Hunsucker
