Derrick Lewis added another highlight-reel knockout to his resume Saturday.
At UFC Fight Night 185, Lewis (25-7 MMA, 16-5 UFC) knocked out Curtis Blaydes with a violent counter uppercut at 1:26 of Round 2. The finish came after a challenging opening nine minutes for Lewis.
The heavyweight bout was the UFC Fight Night 185 main event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. It streamed on ESPN+.
The first round was a striking display from Blaydes (14-3 MMA, 9-3 UFC). In one of the first exchanges, Blaydes ate a big punch. From there, however, Blaydes took over. He landed punches to the head and heavy leg kicks on Lewis.
In Round 2, Blaydes shot for a takedown, but Lewis denied it. Shortly thereafter, Blaydes shot again. This time, Lewis landed a perfectly timed uppercut that folded Blaydes over backward. Before referee Herb Dean could step in, Lewis landed two coffin-nail punches to a stiff Blaydes.
Blaydes was down on the canvas through the following broadcast commercial break, but he was awake and present for the official decision.
With his 20th career knockout, Lewis extended his winning streak to four. He now shares the record for UFC knockouts with Vitor Belfort at 12. Of his most recent nine outings, Lewis has won seven. During that stretch of fights, Lewis has defeated Francis Ngannou, Alexander Volkov, and Marcin Tybura, among others.
As for Blaydes, the loss snaps a four-fight winning streak. It was the first pro defeat he suffered to someone other than Francis Ngannou. It’s the third time Blaydes has lost by TKO in his professional career, but the first time he has been knocked out cold.
Complete UFC Fight Night 185 results include:
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Derrick Lewis def. Curtis Blaydes via knockout (punches) – Round 2, 1:26
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Yana Kunitskaya def. Ketlen Vieira via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
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Darrick Minner def. Charles Rosa via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 29-27)
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Chris Daukaus def. Aleksei Oleinik via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 1:55
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Phil Hawes def. Nassourdine Imavov via majority decision (28-28, 29-28, 29-28)
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Tom Aspinall def. Andrei Arlovski via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 1:09
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Jared Gordon def. Danny Chavez via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
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John Castaneda def. Eddie Wineland via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 4:44
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Julian Erosa def. Nate Landwehr via TKO (flying knee) – Round 1, 0:56
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Casey O’Neill def. Shana Dobson via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 3:41
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Aiemann Zahabi def. Drako Rodriguez via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 3:05
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Serghei Spivac def. Jared Vanderaa via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 4:32
