Last night at UFC Fight Night 105 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, Derrick Lewis was able to dig down deep and defeat long-time heavyweight contender Travis Browne - his toughest challenge to date. He now has the longest active winning streak in the UFC's heavyweight division at six fights, with notable wins over Gabriel Gonzaga, Roy Nelson, and the aforementioned Browne. There is no doubt that he is riding a huge wave of momentum, but what should the UFC do with "The Black Beast" now? Well, I have an idea.
Derrick Lewis should fight the winner of Overeem vs. Hunt at UFC 209
Derrick Lewis has tons of heart. There is no denying that. It is what brought him to the dance in the first place. However, he is not the most skilled fighter in the division by any means. He even admitted himself that, at this point in his career, his skills just do not match up with the competition. At the post-fight press conference, Lewis told reporters, “I gotta work on my overall game. The guys in the top five, they’re good everywhere. Me, I’m just almost one-dimensional." That is why the winner between Alistair Overeem and Mark Hunt would be the perfect fight to make for him. They are both strikers that love to get in the cage and go to war.
Their styles are every similar to Lewis' style and would make for an extremely exciting fight.
This is the fight Derrick Lewis wants anyway
Like I said before, Lewis is aware of his own weaknesses. Fortunately for him, he is able to be just as honest with himself as he is in his post-fight interviews. Last night, He told the Fox Sports 1 team, “I’ll fight [Fabricio] Werdum but Mark Hunt is going to come out and fight.
He’s just like me." He continued by saying, "... It ain’t going to be a boring fight. He ain’t gonna hold me or nothing like that. He’s just going to come out 'swanging and banging' like I always do.”
Lewis has a ton of momentum right now and the fans are behind him. The last thing the UFC should be thinking about is having him fight someone in the top five.
It would ruin the momentum that he has built, and he might never bounce back from that. Instead, they should give him the fight that he wants. Lewis wants it. The fans want it. The UFC should deliver it.
