UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Oleinik features many interesting battles, but its headline is, of course, the most appealing one. Both Derrick Lewis and Aleksei Oleinik have a lot at stake here, because a possible win might propel them to one more big battle, which would bring not only a financial gain, but a possibility for making something big in the division. Having in mind the age of these two veterans, it wouldn’t be hard to predict that this might be one of their last notable fights.
Preview
Derrick Lewis will come out in the UFC octagon for the 20th time in his career, which is the organization’s record. Throughout his career, this guy had several big wins, but could never capture a belt. His only shot at the title was at the UFC 230 when Daniel Cormier defeated him via rear-naked choke in the second round.
After that, Lewis started slipping on the rankings and was never considered worthy for another chance. One of the reasons for that was his defeat against Junior dos Santos in March 2019, when the Brazilian knocked him out in the second round.
In November the same year, at the UFC 244 Lewis bounced back with a triumph over Blagoy Ivanov, yet he didn’t shine at all in that fight. It was a split decision, according to many a controversial one, and he didn’t deserve to win.
After that, he beat Ilir Latifi in February this year, via unanimous decision, and in this one, he looked far better, but still, way below the level once he defeated Alexander Volkov and Frances Ngannou.
On the other side is Aleksei Oleinik, who is the oldest UFC fighter active at the moment, and the only one to achieve victories in the MMA across four decades. Just to remind you that Boa Constrictor has 43 years right now.
Now, if there is a guy who should be considered the best wrestler in the heavyweight division, that would be Oleinik, who posted 46 of his 54 career wins after a submission. Practically, he is the most dominant fighter in that aspect, and he always goes for such a stoppage.
His latest victory, against Fabricio Werdum, came after a split decision, which is a rarity. It was the second triumph in a row, as he previously defeated Maurice Greene, and both of these fights came this year.
Previously, Oleinik suffered two first-round knockouts, against Alistair Overeem and Walt Harris, with the latter one coming after just 12 seconds inside the octagon. These two failures were the main reasons for him slipping down on the rankings, where he currently sits 10th.
Oleinik has 73 MMA fights which makes him one of the legendary fighters, and even though he never won the UFC belt, he is one of the legends of the organization and the sport in general.
Prediction
Lewis is the favorite here and he should win this fight. The Black Beast will try to rush towards the Russian immediately in the first round to repeat Harris’s tactics and solve this one early. We really doubt that Oleinik’s chin is capable of absorbing several punches from Lewis’ side, as we saw it crack a few times in the past in similar situations.
Lewis is our choice here, with the odds on his win at 0.43. He is at least a class above Oleinik at this point, and after seeing him and his future opponent in the ring against big names, we need to give the American a big edge.
