Daily Times

LAS VEGAS: You can never count out Derrick Lewis. Even if you have dominated almost five rounds of a fight, you cannot even put your guard down for even the last 20 seconds. Ask Alexander Volkov. The Black Beast again showcased his ability to knock out fighters at the UFC Apex Facility on Saturday. He looked overwhelmed by 2nd-ranked Curtis Blaydes in the first round. But Lewis made a comeback in the second and finished the fight in spectacular fashion. Lewis landed a big uppercut on Blaydes, which had made him unconscious. Blaydes fell to the ground as Lewis landed some ground and pounds on the American before referee Herb Dean saved Curtis from further damage. Lewis was the underdog in the fight but he again made sure that he is talked a top heavyweight after his performance in the main event at UFC Fight Night in Las Vegas.

Lewis connected on just seven total strikes –– compared to 28 for Blaydes –– but he made the last one count, earning the KO/TKO at 1:26 of the second round to improve to 25-7. “That was the only punch I was waiting for the entire fight,” Lewis said. “I knew he was gonna come in. … That’s all I was waiting for. I wasn’t worried about throwing a one-two, a jab or anything.” Blaydes (14-3, 1 NC) came into the bout with a UFC heavyweight record of 59 takedowns but didn’t land one against Lewis. Lewis, on the other hand, came into the bout with the most knockouts in UFC heavyweight history and added another for his fourth straight win. In doing so, Lewis snapped Blaydes’ four-bout winning streak. In earlier action, Yana Kunitskaya was a unanimous winner over Ketlen Vieira in their women’s bantamweight bout. Kunitskaya tallied 29-28 wins across the board after landing 215 total strikes.

Darrick Minner was a unanimous winner over Charles Rosa in their featherweight fight. Chris Daukaus was a KO/TKO winner over Aleksei Oleinik, earning the win on punches at 1:55 of the first round in their heavyweight bout. Phillip Hawes was a majority decision winner over Nassourdine Imavov, 29-28, 29-28, 28-28 in their middleweight fight. Tom Aspinall forced Andrei Arlovski into submission with a rear naked choke at 1:09 of the second round in their heavyweight bout.