The featured bout on the main card of UFC Edmonton on Saturday will be a duel between reckless power and technical precision as #13 heavyweight contender Derrick Lewis faces rising prospect Jhonata Diniz.
Despite a skid which has seen him lose two of his last five, Derrick Lewis remains dangerous no matter what, as evidenced by his third round knockout against Rodrigo Nascimiento in May of this year.
Two fights prior to that, he knocked out another ranked Brazilian heavyweight Marcos Rogerio de Lima, in just 33 seconds as he landed a surprise flying knee knockdown to begin the bout, followed by emphatic ground & pound to finish the job. Clearly he is dangerous, even at age 39.
What he is losing as he ages, however, is his durability. Lewis was knocked out just four times in his first 21 UFC bouts, an impressive feat when fighting elite heavyweights. Yet since turning 36-years-old Lewis has been KOed three times and submitted on one other occasion.
As a former GLORY kickboxer, even a journeyman, Diniz has the skills to finish an aging Lewis if he can avoid the right hand of ‘The Black Beast.’ The simple fact that he has athleticism that lasts three full rounds can give Lewis trouble.
Even his own knockout power, while not elite like Derrick’s, may be enough to finish the aging fan-favorite, especially if Diniz can accrue attritional damage early — he is a prolific leg kicker — that chips away at Lewis’ base to take some of his power away.
Although Lewis should never be counted out due to his ultimate equalizer, his position as the underdog in this bout is well-founded. I expect Diniz to finish Lewis in the second or third rounds after working the body early.
If he pulls it off this will be the biggest result of Jhonata’s career across two sports. A win over a popular fighter like Lewis would grant him increased fan recognition and would put the 33-year-old kickboxing specialist in the UFC heavyweight top fifteen, rubbing shoulders with the most dangerous giants in the world.
However, many men have underestimated ‘the Black Beast’ in the past, and many men have then found themselves then being awoken by Lewis’ signature Kong-style slam celebration reverberating the canvas they lay on, as they stare up at bright arena lights and wonder what hit them.
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