Three Surprises from UFC 229
UFC 229 is in the books and what a show it was. Boasting rewarding action up and down the card it was unquestionably one of the best MMA events of 2018. It was certainly the most memorable.
Headlined by the long-anticipated grudge match between unbeaten Lightweight Champion, Khabib Nurmagmedov and "Notorious" Conor McGregor, the show was an unmitigated success from top to bottom, with an ending that had to be seen to be believed.
However, there were plenty of other surprises that took place on the card. This slideshow counts down the three biggest that took place on the show.
#3 Derrick Lewis upsets Alexander Volkov with 11 seconds remaining
Deep in the third round of their Heavyweight encounter, Derrick Lewis knew he was losing to Alexander Volkov.
The Russian, four years the junior of Lewis and much taller with a longer reach had comfortably won the first two rounds and was seemingly headed for a unanimous points victory.
However, the veteran Lewis showed incredible heart to demonstrate he never knows when he is defeated and with seconds left on the clock continued to probe away until he landed a huge right hand through Volkov's defences crumpling the big man in a heap on the canvas. Lewis shot in with more shots before referee Herb Dean stopped the fight to a huge reaction from the live crowd with just 11 seconds remaining.
Lewis is now unquestionably the top contender for the Heavyweight belt and will be hoping he can jump Brock Lesnar in the queue for a crack at Champion, Daniel Cormier.
#2 Gray Maynard defeated in just 79 seconds
UFC legend, Gray Maynard was hoping for a victory over fellow UFC veteran Nik Lentz to put himself back on a winning trail in the company.
However, what ensued was a massively one sided defeat which may have ended Maynard's UFC career.
Lentz blasted Maynard with blows from the outset visibly rocking Maynard, who managed to earn a break from the flurry, only to walk straight back into Lentz's fists.
A right hand saw Maynard fall to the canvas as Lentz jumped on top of him landing more punches for the win.
After this display, Lentz unquestionably has a future in UFC. Maynard, with six losses in his last eight fights, at the age of 39, most likely does not.