Former heavyweight title challenger Derrick Lewis scored a record-extending 15th knockout win at the weekend, while Joaquin Buckley shone – without a stoppage – on home soil at the weekend to defend his #12 ranking at 170lbs…
Lewis leaves St. Louis fans satisfied
R3, 0:49 – Derrick Lewis [12] bt. Rodrigo Nascimento [15]
OKAY, so it’s clear by now that Derrick Lewis won’t be a UFC heavyweight champion.
That doesn’t mean he can’t continue to have nights like this, adding to his legacy against the very same taxi drivers he refers to as opposition who keep challenging him to show new wrinkles in the Octagon and reinvigorate his thirst for competition.
Michael Bisping praised the 39-year-old for showing a willingness to make mistakes and test himself in the grappling department, as he even secured an unexpected takedown of his own with a leg trip against the Brazilian.
Yet that isn’t his bread-and-butter, so naturally he didn’t look comfortable once the 31-year-old reversed position and had him defending on his back. For context, this is a man who had lost four of his last five outings – all but one by stoppage – since falling short in a quest for interim gold against Ciryl Gane at UFC 265 in Aug. 2021.
He’s spoken recently about a willingness to embrace his wild side with WWE appearances and given the two companies merged last year, there’s increased scope for crossover content now. Lewis is a fan favourite, logged a record-extending 15th knockout this past weekend and getting well-paid for the privilege. Speaking of…
Buckley back in a big way, callout aside
30-27, 30-26, 29-27: UD3 — Joaquin Buckley [12] bt. Nursulton Ruziboev
If you don’t shoot, how are you going to score? Joaquin Buckley mixed the martial arts beautifully – takedowns and grappling, boxing and more – en route to an impressive decision win over Nursulton Ruziboev, defending his newly-minted welterweight ranking just six weeks after earning it at Vicente Luque’s expense.
Largely viewed as a more refreshing alternative to the always-game Kevin Holland, who himself campaigns across two weight divisions, Buckley has again shown improvements within his arsenal to a point where the power isn’t his calling card any longer. The risk vs. reward spectacle that comes from watching him never wavers.
It didn’t here and almost got him into trouble on a few occasions against Ruziboev, especially when they exchanged haymakers at close distance, but that didn’t deter him from putting on a show for his hometown. Instead, that merely spurred him on to push the boundaries even further – Max Holloway style – and he was rewarded.
Not only did New Mansa receive the crowd’s loudest pop and fervent support throughout this challenging battle, but it’s clear the wider MMA audience have begun to accept him in ways that didn’t feel realistic in the aftermath of *that* highlight reel knockout win over Impa Kasanganay four years ago. Buckley has evolved since.
Although the post-fight callout of Conor McGregor left everyone puzzled, he should take heart from one-time title challenger Gilbert Burns’ willingness to face him next, considering he was winning – until he wasn’t in the final stages – against highly-rated contender Jack Della Maddalena last time out. Risks often pay off.
Result of the card’s results
Main card
Light-heavyweight: Carlos Ulberg bt. Alonzo Menifield [11] via R1 KO (0:12, punches)
Lightweight: Carlos Diego Ferreira bt. Mateusz Rebecki via R3 TKO (4:51, punches)
Featherweight: Sean Woodson bt. Alex Caceres via UD3 (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
Heavyweight: Waldo Cortes-Acosta bt. Robelis Despaigne via UD3 (30-26, 30-27, 30-27)
Prelims
Lightweight: Chase Hooper bt. Viacheslav Borshchev via R2 submission (3:00, brabo choke)
Lightweight: Esteban Ribovics bt. Terrance McKinney via R1 KO (0:37, head kick)
Women’s strawweight: Tabatha Ricci [11] bt. Tecia Pennington via split decision (28-29, 29-28 x 2)
Welterweight: Trey Waters bt. Billy Goff via UD3 (30-27 x 2,, 29-28)
Flyweight: Charles Johnson bt. Jake Hadley via UD3 (29-28 x 3)
Women’s flyweight: Veronica Hardy bt. JJ Aldrich via UD3 (29-28 x 3)
Picture source: Getty Images
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