Derrick Lewis is ready for anything ahead of his main event fight with Curtis Blaydes at UFC Vegas 19 on Saturday.

Everyone who has watched the sport knows what his stand-up game is like.

Lewis has the most knockouts in UFC heavyweight history and is also tied for the most knockouts in UFC history with 11.

But what about his ground game? Lewis is up against an outstanding wrestler in Curtis Blaydes in Saturday’s main event. 

Blaydes chuckles at Lewis’ comments about “The Black Beast” being able to take him down and punish him on the ground. For maybe the first time ever, Lewis doesn’t understand what all the laughing is about.

Speaking with MMAWeekly.com at the UFC Vegas 19 virtual media day, Lewis said he welcomes Blaydes to take the fight to the ground.

“I really do believe I can have more takedowns than him in this fight,” Lewis said. “I really do believe that.”

Understandably, with the decorated wrestling background that he possesses, Blaydes has not taken kindly to comments like these in the lead-up to this fight.

Blaydes said he believes Lewis does not take the necessary steps to be great. But in what appears to be a recurring theme here, Lewis is not concerned.

“That’s fine. How many fights I got and how many fights he got? What’s goin’ on with me and what’s goin’ on with him? My resume speaks for itself,” Lewis said. “He could say what he wants, that’s fine. Whatever it takes for him to show up fight night, that’s fine. So I don’t care.”

Despite welcoming a fight on the ground with Blaydes, the Black Beast predicted a quick finish against Razor Blaydes.

“I’ll knock him out in the first round,” Lewis said. “First exchange, I’ll knock him out.”

TRENDING UFC Vegas 19 weigh-in results: Several fighters miss weight, record miss causes cancelation

UFC Vegas 19 face-offs: Curtis Blaydes vs Derrick Lewis

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Article source: https://www.mmaweekly.com/derrick-lewis-predicts-first-exchange-ko-of-curtis-blaydes-at-ufc-vegas-19

Blaydes
vs.
Lewis
Kunitskaya
vs.
Vieira
Minner
vs.
Rosa
Daukaus
vs.
Oleinik
Hawes
vs.
Imavov
Arlovski
vs.
Aspinall

MMA Junkie readers’
consensus picks
2021: 12-11

Blaydes
(58%)

Vieira
(66%)

Rosa
(78%)

Oleinik
(66%)

Hawes
(76%)

Aspinall
(56%)

Brian Garcia
@thegoze
2021: 15-8
2017 Champion

Lewis

Vieira

Rosa

Oleinik

Imavov

Arlovski

John Morgan
@MMAjunkieJohn
2021: 15-8

Blaydes

Vieira

Rosa

Daukaus

Imavov

Arlovski

George Garcia
@MMAjunkieGeorge
2021: 15-8

Lewis

Vieira

Rosa

Oleinik

Hawes

Arlovski

Dan Tom
@DanTomMMA
2021: 14-9
2020 Champion

Lewis

Vieira

Rosa

Daukaus

Hawes

Aspinall

Danny Segura
@dannyseguratv
2021: 14-9

Lewis

Vieira

Rosa

Daukaus

Hawes

Aspinall

Mike Bohn
@MikeBohnMMA
2021: 14-9
2014 Champion

Blaydes

Vieira

Rosa

Oleinik

Imavov

Aspinall

Simon Head
@simonhead
2021: 12-11
2019 Champion*

Blaydes

Vieira

Rosa

Daukaus

Hawes

Aspinall

Ken Hathaway
@kenshathaway
2021: 12-11
2018 Champion

Lewis

Vieira

Rosa

Daukaus

Hawes

Aspinall

Abbey Subhan
@kammakaze
2021: 11-12

Lewis

Vieira

Rosa

Daukaus

Hawes

Aspinall

Farah Hannoun
@Farah_Hannoun
2021: 11-12

Blaydes

Vieira

Rosa

Daukaus

Hawes

Aspinall

Matt Erickson
@MMAjunkieMatt
2021: 11-12

Blaydes

Vieira

Rosa

Oleinik

Hawes

Aspinall

Simon Samano
@SJSamano
2021: 11-12

Blaydes

Vieira

Rosa

Daukaus

Hawes

Aspinall

Nolan King
@mma_kings
2021: 10-13

Blaydes

Vieira

Rosa

Daukaus

Imavov

Arlovski

The UFC stays in its home base this week with a key heavyweight bout atop the bill.

UFC Fight Night 185 takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The card streams on ESPN+.

(Click here to open a PDF of the staff picks grid in a separate window.)

In the main event, Curtis Blaydes (14-2 MMA, 9-2 UFC) takes on former heavyweight title challenger Derrick Lewis (24-7 MMA, 15-5 UFC). The winner is expected to stay in the hunt for a title shot. Blaydes is the biggest favorite on the entire card at -450 at BetMGM, but he’s only got a narrow 7-6 picks lead from our 13 editors, writers, videographers and radio hosts.

In the co-feature, Yana Kunitskaya (13-5 MMA, 3-2 UFC) takes on Ketlen Vieira (11-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC) in a key women’s bantamweight fight. Vieira is a -275 favorite at the betting window, and she’s one of two unanimous picks on our main card at 13-0.

The other unanimous pick is Charles Rosa (13-4 MMA, 4-4 UFC) in his featherweight bout against Darrick Minner (25-11 MMA, 1-1 UFC). Rosa only is a mild favorite at -190, but he’s got unanimous love from our staff members.

Chris Daukaus (10-3 MMA, 2-0 UFC) is a 2-1 favorite in his heavyweight bout against Aleksei Oleinik (59-14-1 MMA, 8-5 UFC), and he’s got a decent lead in the picks at 9-4.

The closest fight on the main card from an odds perspective is between Phil Hawes (9-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC) and Nassourdine Imavov (9-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC) at middleweight. Hawes is just a slight favorite at -125, but he’s got a sizable picks lead at 9-4.

And to open the main card, former heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski (30-19 MMA, 19-13 UFC) meets Tom Aspinall (9-2 MMA, 2-0 UFC). Aspinall is a -250 favorite and has a 9-4 lead in the picks.

In the MMA Junkie reader consensus picks, Blaydes (58 percent), Vieira (66 percent), Rosa (78 percent), Oleinik (66 percent), Hawes (76 percent) and Aspinall (56 percent) are the choices.

Check out all the picks above.

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2021/02/ufc-fight-night-185-predictions-picks-curtis-blaydes-vs-derrick-lewis

LAS VEGAS – UFC Fight Night 185 official weigh-ins and faceoffs are in the books, and MMA Junkie was on site for the festivities.

After the fighters stepped on the scale Friday morning, resulting in one bout being scrapped, they came face to face for staredowns.

In the main event, Curtis Blaydes and Derrick Lewis square off in a heavyweight clash. And in the co-headliner, Yana Kunitskaya and Ketlen Vieira – one of four fighters to miss weight – meet in a bantamweight bout.

You can watch the faceoffs from all 14 fights in the video above. Also, check out our complete photo gallery below.

UFC Fight Night 185 takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex and streams entirely on ESPN+.

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2021/02/ufc-fight-night-185-weigh-in-faceoffs-video-photo-gallery

It’s not often we see UFC champions asking for a second fight with a challenger who’s already been vanquished, but Kamaru Usman has no problem admitting he wants Jorge Masvidal again.

Following his win over Gilbert Burns at this past Saturday’s UFC 258, the reigning welterweight titleholder brought up the idea of a rematch with “Gamebred,” and it seems to be quickly gaining traction. While nothing has been signed yet, Usman said his motivation is twofold.

First, Usman said he’s been harboring a little frustration inside from a few comments he heard Masvidal make following their meeting at UFC 251. That famous “Fight Island” clash saw Masvidal step in on one week’s notice but come up short in a five-round decision – a result the challenger thinks he could reverse if given ample preparation.

“I am 4-0 now in title fights, and three of those – I mean, all four, to be honest – I’ve completely dominated, completely. But one of those four, there’s an excuse,” Usman told MMA Junkie. “There’s a, ‘Oh, this is why. This is why. This is why.’ Let’s be honest: The hardcore MMA fans and you and I know that 10 times out of 10, on my worst day, that’s what happens. That’s the result that you’re going to get. But this guy truly, for some reason, believes – I don’t know whether he’s sniffing his own Kool-Aid too much, or I don’t know what he’s doing down there wherever he’s hiding at – that he truly for some reason, he believes that he has a shot, that he can beat me. And what even kind of ticked me off, what brought this on, was after the fight, he’s doing his little media talk. I think it might have been his post-fight, and I was walking by. They were taking me into medical, and I’m walking by the room, and it just so happens that at the same time, I guess the question was asked to him, and I hear him saying, ‘With more preparation, I believe I have what it takes to beat that man.’ That is not words that I ever want to hear out of an opponent of mine. Never.

“That is why – like, a lot of people, I know they might be mad and say, ‘Oh, you went to the decision, you went to the decision.’ But guess what? Every one of those guys I went to the decision with, I guarantee you they don’t want to fight me again. There’s a reason, because I want to break them internally. I want to break their soul. I want to take something away from them to that when my name comes up again, they’re just like, ‘F*ck, no. I don’t want to fight that guy again.’ So when I was walking by and I heard him say that, it pissed me off to the point where I’m just like, ‘What? How dare you?’ How dare you?’ That was not even my greatest performance. Had I went out there and the circumstances been different and I performed the way that I’m capable of performing, you wouldn’t have lasted three rounds. I would have finished you. I would have gotten him out of there. So by him not recognizing that, it just pissed me off so much to where it put a bigger chip in my shoulder.”

Of course, there’s another motivating factor for Usman, as well. With three successful title defenses to his name, Usman is looking to collect the biggest checks possible while continuing to build his legacy, and while may not be Masvidal’s biggest fan, the champ realizes the American Top Team fighter’s popularity among fans.

“It doesn’t hurt that if you really look at the pool of guys that are right there for me to fight, he’s the only one that kind of arguably makes a case for himself, you know?” Usman asked. “And it doesn’t hurt that he’s the most popular one out of them. So it’s like, why not? At the end of the day, I’m a businessman, as well. I’m not stupid. I’m an artist, and I am sensitive about my sh*t, but I want to compensated for it, as well.”

Should that matchup come to fruition, there have been reports that the two could end up as opposing coaches on “The Ultimate Fighter,” as well, which is set for a reboot later this year. While it might seem a little counterintuitive to give Masvidal six weeks of taping time to get under his skin, Usman said he’s not worried about potential verbal clashes.

Usman said he doesn’t exactly want to hear Masvidal’s inevitable taunts, but he also doesn’t thinks there’s any real ammunition left to use.

“As a competitor, obviously not – I don’t want to deal with any of that because I’m a simple guy, fairly,” Usman said. “I just want to be in my house, on my couch. I don’t want to have to deal with any of that other stuff. But this is part of the job. This is part of my goal of this year, is big, big things that I need to do, I want to do. I want to do them this year, and this is just a stepping stone towards that, and he can’t troll me. I don’t give a sh*t about that guy.

“What could he possibly say? That’s the thing now. What could you possibly say about me? What? What could he say? How could he troll me? What? ‘You can’t fight.’ Wrong. I can fight – because I have a big shiny thing up here that says that I can fight. ‘You can’t beat me?’ Wrong. I beat your ass from start to finish. You can’t say that.

“What else do they say? ‘Oh, your hair, you have no hair. Guess what? I shaved it all. Bald now. What these dudes going to say about me? You can’t say nothing. John, tell them: They can’t say nothing, can’t control noting. It’s me. I’m going to be there with my coaching staff, and when my coaching staff is there, they’re going to know. They better keep their mouth shut because at any given moment, we would set it off in there.”

To hear the full interview with Usman, check out the video below.

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2021/02/kamaru-usman-jorge-masvidal-out-of-trolling-options-ufc-video

For flyweight Nate Smith, 2020 presented difficulties not only for his career but for his personal life as well.

Due to COVID-19, Smith was only able to get in one bout in 2020, but a loss outside the cage was far more impactful not only for the difficulty it presented him, but also the motivation it gave him to move forward.

“Last year was extremely difficult, not speaking fighting-wise, but it was more a personal matter,” Smith told MMAWeekly.com. “A few months ago I had to bury my baby brother, who was murdered in Chicago, so I had to deal with that.

“For me, personally, we needed to sit down and just grieve. Dealing with it is one of the hardest things on the planet. (At the same time) me sitting down and not doing anything would piss off my baby brother. He would be mad as crap and ask what the hell I was doing. So it took me some time to heal a little bit, kind of did my own thing, then I was training, pushing, pushing, pushing, getting my head right.”

With all that has happened, Smith goes into his 2021 with a drive to achieve the goals he has set out for himself his whole career up to this point.

“I’m definitely approaching this (upcoming fight) with a chip on my shoulder,” said Smith. “I made a goal in my career of winning a world title and that’s what I’m going to do.

“It’s one of those deals where I have to go in and handle business. The cage is my home, the cage is my home, and in my home I don’t let anyone take anything from me. That right there, that belt, it’s coming home with me.”

This Friday in Park City, Kansas, Smith (6-1) will look to add that title to his resume when he faces Victor Altamarino (8-1) in the 125-pound championship main event of LFA 100.

TRENDING UFC to produce weekly live show on TikTok

“The key is me going in there and doing what I do best, and that’s dominate and do whatever I can to win the fight,” Smith said. “Just getting after it and just getting business done.

“Again, (Altamarino is) coming into my house, and whether he feels like it or not, it’s my home, and there’s nothing he can do about it. I plan on making sure he doesn’t have an answer. He has to figure me out (not the other way around).”

Having gotten on the radar with the UFC on the Contender Series last year, an LFA title could vault him back into contention for taking that next step before the year’s end.

“I know I’m on Dana (White’s) radar,” said Smith. “I know even in that loss (at Contender Series) I made a statement that I’m ready to get to that next level.

“Criteria-wise I think this will help me a lot, but I’ll take it one thing at a time and focus on the individual in front of me – and he’s got to go. “

Article source: https://www.mmaweekly.com/nate-smith-has-a-chip-on-his-shoulder-heading-into-lfa-100-title-fight