Derrick Lewis Beats Francis Ngannou In Awful Fight

Derrick Lewis vs. Francis Ngannou sucked.

A heavyweight grudge match between Ngannou and Lewis served as the co-main event of UFC 226. The heavyweight bulls collided inside the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Well, at least we thought they would collide.

Lewis went for a high kick early. “The Black Beast” landed a kick and Ngannou went for a combination. Ngannou blocked a switch kick. Ngannou was being extremely patient and his output was almost non-existent in the opening frame. Round one came to a close with little action. When Lewis went to his corner, he mentioned he was having back issues.

Fans got restless early in the second stanza. Ngannou’s activity was still severely lacking two minutes into the second round. Up to this point, the fight was looking like a total flop. Ngannou was two for 15 on his total strikes with one minute and 30 seconds left in the second round. Referee Herb Dean warned both men to up the activity or points would be deducted. Lewis landed a kick to the body. Ngannou was still allergic to throwing punches.

The third round began and it was obvious that Ngannou needed a finish. There was no sense of urgency from “The Predator.” Lewis was content with doing the bare minimum since it was still more output than his opponent. Lewis landed a punch with less than two minutes left in the “fight.” The fight was so bad that color commentator Joe Rogan asked, “what the hell?” Finally, Lewis started to show aggression, but Ngannou remained staring at his opponent.

This fight was garbage.

Final Result: Derrick Lewis def. Francis Ngannou via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)