Derrick Lewis came into the UFC heavyweight division an absolute force, a scary knockout artist with immense power. Years later, Lewis was the division’s KO king, while Brazil’s Marcos Rogerio de Lima was looking to further his own legacy as a scary, devastating contender in the weight class.
The pair faced off on the UFC 291 main card on Saturday, bumped up from the prelims after Stephen Thompson vs. Michel Pereira dropped off.
What played out Saturday was nearly unthinkable, even in the career of Derrick Lewis. “The Black Beast” started the bout by charging across the cage and launching a flying knee. That knee crashed into the face of Marcos Rogerio de Lima, who clearly did not have a Derrick Lewis flying knee on his 2023 bingo card. Not that anyone did.
Brazil’s Rogerio de Lima went down, covering up and probably trying to figure out how a truck had run him over inside the octagon. Lewis, meanwhile, began raining down punches, and eventually got to mount. Rogerio de Lima wouldn’t go out easy, rolling to his knees, but Lewis took control from the back, dropping blow after blow until the ref finally decided he had seen enough.
In a sport known for surprises, watching one of the biggest heavyweights in the weight class deliver a flying knee was perhaps the biggest surprise of the night. Then came the post-fight celebration, which had Lewis stripping off his shorts and delivering a Degeneration-X style crotch chop.
AND HIS BALLS WAS HOT #UFC291 pic.twitter.com/uqz1Tqefxn
— UFC (@ufc) July 30, 2023
Following the win, Lewis told Joe Rogan that he hadn’t planned to open with a flying knee — and that the fight was the final bout on his current contract. There is zero chance the UFC lets Lewis slip away off that performance.
Official Result: Derrick Lewis def. Marcos Rogerio de Lima by TKO (flying knee and punches), Round 1, 0:33
