Tag Archives: Derrick Lewis

UFC 216 Odds and Prediction: Fabricio Werdum vs. Derrick Lewis

October 4, 2017Sports News & PicksDerrick Lewis, Fabricio Werdum, MMA Betting, MMA Odds, MMA predictions, UFC 216, UFC 216 betting, UFC 216 odds, UFC 216 picks, UFC 216 predictions, UFC 216 preview, UFC picksChris Blain

Former UFC heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum squares off against the 7th ranked Derrick Lewis at UFC 216 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas Nevada on October 7th, 2017.

Coming From Losses

Werdum is coming off of a majority decision loss to Alistair Overeem but remains one of the most dangerous fighters in the UFC’s heavyweight division with his elite grappling and improved striking game.

Lewis is also coming off a loss. The Black Beast lost steam and got knocked out by Mark Hunt at UFC Fight Night 110 last June. He announced his retirement after the bout but has since changed course. Now, Lewis tries to avoid losing back to back fights for the first time in his career. It won’t be easy at all.

Dictating The Fight

Werdum is the favorite here at -250. Lewis, meanwhile, is the slight underdog at +195. This should go down to whoever can dictate the fight and make his opponent fight his style.

Werdum is perhaps the best grappler and submission artist in heavyweight history so it would be prudent for him to take this fight to the ground. Werdum’s striking has improved since his title run but we saw what happened when he stood in front of a heavy hitter like Stipe Miocic. Derrick Lewis has the same kind of punching power, or even better.

Fourteen of the Black Beast’s 15 wins have come via knockout and only four of his total fights have gone the distance. So, either way, Derrick Lewis is going to come out swinging for the fences against Werdum. There is no doubt that if Lewis can connect, Werdum is definitely going to sleep.

Prediction

Werdum, meanwhile, will try to avoid the Miocic mistake. Because he is the best grappler and submission artist in heavyweight history, he will most certainly try to slow down Lewis by taking the fight to the ground where he is an expert. But Lewis may not be easy to put on the canvas.

The Black Beast is 260 pounds and has good takedown defense. Werdum also has to be wary about Lewis’ reach which is two inches longer than his. If Werdum can’t take this fight to the ground, he’s going to have to eat monster punches from the Black Beast.

This could go either way, really. But we’re picking Derrick Lewis to win this one by stoppage. I just don’t see Werdum taking him to the ground. Lewis’ is the longer man by two inches. He also has the heavier hands. Derrick Lewis by late knockout.

UFC Fight Night 110: Derrick Lewis vs. Mark Hunt Odds and Prediction

June 4, 2017Sports News & PicksDerrick Lewis, Mark Hunt, UFC Fight Night 110, UFC picks, UFC predictionsChris Blain

Two of the UFC’s heaviest hitters square off in the main event of UFC Fight Night 110 on June 11th, 2017 at the Spark Arena in Auckland, New Zealand.

On A Winning Streak

Derrick Lewis has won his last six fights, five of them by knockout. The Black Beast is coming off a knockout of Travis Browne in Halifax, Nova Scotia last February 19th. The surging Lewis owns victories over Gabriel Gonzaga and Roy Nelson during his winning streak, as well. Lewis is primarily a striker with some boxing background. He only averages 0.72 takedowns per 15 minutes on a 33% accuracy, while 14 of his last 15 wins have been by knockout. Lewis averages 3.72 significant strikes landed per minute and has a 79-inch reach which should be crucial in this matchup.

One Punch KO Power

Mark Hunt, meanwhile, is coming off a knockout loss to Alistair Overeem at UFC 209. The Super Samoan has lost 4 of his last 6 bouts, although one of those losses (to Brock Lesnar) has been overturned to a no-decision. Hunt averages 3.02 significant strikes per minute on a 43.9% accuracy. But with him, it’s not the numbers that matter. Hunt is the king of the walk-off one punch knockout so any fight with him in it can end anytime regardless of statistics. Like Lewis, he doesn’t fancy takedowns, averaging only 0.62 takedowns per 15 minutes. Hunt is already 43 years old and has been hit or miss lately. But with the power he packs, he needs only one big punch to win against anybody.

Odds And Prediction

Anytime you have two equally powerful monsters, it’s got to be an even fight and his one’s understandably as close that as it can be. Lewis is a -125 favorite, while Hunt is even money as a +100 underdog. Fair enough. This should be an old school bar brawl where these two fighters will stand in front of each other at the center of the Octagon, trading bombs until one of them falls asleep on the canvas.

We know Mark Hunt will be the crowd favorite with this fight being in New Zealand. We believe he may also possess the harder punch, hence he is the more dangerous fighter between the two. But we’ve seen how these two have fared in recent fights. Lewis not only has a seven inch reach advantage, he has also shown better form as of late. This fight isn’t going the distance. Derrick Lewis is going to knock out Mark Hunt.

UFC Fight Night 105: Derrick Lewis vs. Travis Browne Odds and Prediction

February 13, 2017Sports News & PicksDerrick Lewis, Travis Browne, UFC betting, UFC odds, UFC picksChris Blain

UFC Top 10 heavyweights Derrick Lewis and Travis Browne collide at UFC Fight Night 105 on February 19, 2017 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada with the winner moving on to greener pastures and the loser moving down the heavyweight ladder.

New Main Event

Brown and Lewis were set to square off at UFC 208 on February 11 in Brooklyn but after the Halifax event lost its main event of Dos Santos vs Struve following Struve’s injury, the heavyweight showdown between Hapa and the Black Beast was moved to the promotion’s next event as its headliner. The move speaks a lot about the promise of Lewis and the drawing power of Browne, who is more popularly known as Ronda Rousey’s boyfriend.

Black Beast

Derrick Lewis isn’t the Black Beast for nothing. He’s recorded a knockout in all but two of his 17 wins. He’s lost four times though, two by KO but has won five bouts in a row, four of them by knockout via punches. The only opponent he didn’t knockout during this run was Roy Nelson and we know Big Country has the best chin in the business. Lewis has tremendous power in his punches and that’s his main weapon. What impressed us with Lewis is how he’s improved the other facets of his game lately. In his most recent bout against sambo master Shamil Abdurakhimov, Lewis came from behind to win by stoppage.

Something’s Not Right

Travis Browne is one of the best strikers in the UFC’s heavyweight division. We saw a lot of that in 2013 when Browne was at his finest, beating Gabriel Gonzaga, Alistair Overeem and Josh Barnett in succession and by stoppages. But something’s not right with Hapa lately. His striking has been off as he was dominated by both Fabricio Werdum and Cain Velasquez in his last two bouts. If you take away Browne’s striking, then he is just a mediocre fighter on the ground. Nothing special with his wrestling or grappling skills really.

Even Fight

This is one of those pick’em fights. Lewis is a -137.50 favorite while Browne is a slight +110 underdog. In the UFC’s heavyweight division, one doesn’t really have to be well rounded to win. You just have to have the power. Now both these fighters have that game changing power, just that Lewis may have more. But Travis Browne is the more dynamic striker and the quicker one on his feet. What should play an important factor in this fight is the current streak of each fighter. Brown has lost four of six bouts and has dropped to #9 in the rankings. Lewis meanwhile has won five in a row and has risen one spot above Hapa at #8. We’ll play the streaks here and bank on Lewis’ power. We’re predicting that Derrick Lewis knocks out Travis Browne.