UFC Predictions: UFC Fight Night: Derrick Lewis vs. Chris Daukaus
This weekend sees the final UFC event of 2021, as the promotion heads back to its Las Vegas base for UFC Fight Night: Derrick Lewis vs. Chris Daukaus.
This UFC Fight Night looks like a pretty strong card overall, with some excellent matches and some dangerous contenders all in action.
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@ChrisDaukausMMA gets an early TKO victory in RD 1! #UFCVegas19 https://t.co/V96QbLmwlr
So with plenty to pique the interest of viewers, this should be a solid, if perhaps not spectacular, way for the promotion to sign off 2021 with.
Here are the predicted outcomes for UFC Fight Night: Derrick Lewis vs. Chris Daukaus.
#1. UFC heavyweight division: Derrick Lewis vs. Chris Daukaus
Following his loss to Ciryl Gane at UFC 265 in August, it’s probably safe to say that Derrick Lewis’ hopes of becoming UFC heavyweight champion are now long gone.
However, ‘The Black Beast’ is still one of the most dangerous fighters in the division and with this booking, it seems like the UFC intends to turn him into a high-level gatekeeper. Beat Lewis and a fighter might be worthy of heading into title contention.
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So can Chris Daukaus be that fighter or will he become another victim of Lewis’ brutal punching power?
Daukaus made his UFC debut last August to very little fanfare, but since then, he’s followed in the footsteps of fighters like Roy Nelson and Mark Hunt in terms of his skills belying his poor physical shape. Sure, Daukaus isn’t ripped or muscular, but he’s surprisingly quick for a man of his size, he’s got good technical strikes and he hits hard. That's evidenced by the fact that all four of his UFC wins have come via KO or TKO.
The native of Philadelphia has not been fighting scrubs, either, as his last two wins have come over top-15-ranked Aleksei Oleinik and Shamil Abdurakhimov.
This is an intriguing fight for a number of reasons. Firstly, Lewis, for all of his dangerous power, has never been the most durable fighter in the UFC’s heavyweight division. ‘The Black Beast’ suffered a knockout loss at the hands of Gane in August, but he’s also been stopped previously by the likes of Hunt and Shawn Jordan. Even when he doesn’t lose, it seems like he gets hurt in all of his fights.
However, despite this, Daukaus can’t be expected to run through him. Despite his wins over Oleinik and Abdurakhimov being impressive, it’s hard to shake off the idea that he’s only beaten plodding foes, making him look much faster than he might actually be.
Lewis, on the other hand, is deceptively quick for a big man. More to the point, he’ll be by far the most hard-hitting opponent that Daukaus has faced in his MMA career.
Daukaus could prove to be a genuine contender and might take Lewis out, but it’s hard not to side with the more proven fighter here, particularly as Daukaus won’t be used to fighting someone as fast. So the pick is Lewis via KO.
The Pick: Lewis via first round KO
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