By Safeer MS
Derrick Lewis and Rodrigo Nascimento fight in the main event of UFC St. Louis this coming week. Derrick Lewis is coming off a boring loss to Jailton Almedia whereas Nascimento is on a three-fight winning streak. If victorious against Lewis, Nascimento could potentially break into the top 10 of UFC’s heavyweight division. Other than that, there is not much at stake in the fight. Both fighters are not fighting for championship glory at heavyweight.
Paths to victory for Rodrigo Nascimento
Rodrigo Nascimento is almost the same size as Derrick Lewis and has a one-inch reach. The Brazilian has no knockout victories in the UFC. He is on a three-fight winning streak, all via decision (2 split and 1 unanimous). For Nascimento to beat Lewis, he has to gain respect from the Black Beast with his power. If Lewis felt no threat from his opposition, he would march right in and throw combinations. Moreover, if the fight stays standing, Lewis can knock out Nascimento at any moment of the fight.
Another way is to take Lewis down and submit him. That seems to be the most viable path to victory for the Brazilian. However, Lewis is not an easy man to keep down. Only technical wrestlers or BJJ grapplers can jeep Lewis down, as evidenced by his fights against Sergey Spivak and Jailton Almeida. Therefore, Nascimento must focus on putting pressure on Lewis in the first round. Afterward, he should slowly tire Lewis, take him down, and finish him.
Paths to Victory for Derrick Lewis
Derrick Lewis is the record holder for most knockout victories in the UFC, across all weight divisions. Even though he is in a slump, Lewis has phenomenal power and can knock out any heavyweight on the UFC roster. Lewis’ gameplan for any fight should be about not getting taken down. Moreover, he also should focus on defense when facing power punchers, as evidenced by his losses to Tai Tuivasa and Sergei Pavlovich.
Against Nascimento, all Lewis has to do is land one punch clean. However, he should be careful and patient. For Lewis, the ideal fight against Nascimento would look like when he fought Chris Daukus. After patiently waiting for Daukus who was not able to threaten Lewis, the Black Beast pressured forward and ultimately scored a knockdown. One thing Lewis should keep in mind is not to be reckless as he does not have a good chin and is susceptible to a knockout.
