Post UFC 230: What next for Derrick Lewis?
At UFC 229, just four weeks ago, Derrick Lewis earned his shot at the UFC Heavyweight Championship by knocking out Alexander Volkov in a stunning come from behind victory when he was literally staring defeat in the face, 11 seconds away from seeing his title dreams go up in smoke.
The win was Lewis's 9th in his past 10 fights, a run stretching back to June 2015.
The 33-year-old American had been wowing UFC fans with his explosive punching power since 2014 as he notched up huge wins over big names such as Gabriel Gonzaga, Roy Nelson, Travis Browne and Francis Ngannou.
With that victory over Volkov, he could no longer be ignored and despite a mega-money Heavyweight title match with Brock Lesnar in the works, UFC Heavyweight Champion, Daniel Cormier had to defend the belt against the "Black Beast" first.
Cormier was the heavy favourite but Lewis posed a considerable threat with the man's potent punching power.
However, a Lewis fairytale win was not to be and it was the experience and greater all-round game of Cormier that was the deciding factor in the bout.
Now after his defeat, what's next for Lewis?
Despite his loss, he is still a top contender for the UFC crown. He will now have to go back and win some fights to place himself back into a position to challenge for the belt.
Lewis has already defeated many of his fellow contenders en route to his UFC 230 shot, but a bout versus former Heavyweight Champion, Stipe Miocic seems like it would be a logical next step.
The two have never clashed before and have both lost their most recent fights versus Cormier. A winner-takes-all bout to become the next top contender for the title looks likely and would be a marquee matchup as well.
Lewis or Miocic vs Cormier or Lesnar. This looks to be the likely title direction for the first half of 2019 and it is a mouth-watering one.
Lewis isn't done yet. Not by a long shot.