UFC: Derrick Lewis Makes Bold Prediction For Francis Ngannou Rematch

The number two ranked UFC heavyweight Derrick Lewis says he has agreed to fight the champion Francis Ngannou, later in the year.

The pair first fought three years ago at UFC 226, when Lewis beat Ngannou in a surprising heavyweight snooze fest. Given the fact that both fighters are violent knockout artists, fans were expecting an exciting bout, but they were left disappointed.

Snooze Fest

Speaking to ESPN (as transcribed by MMA Junkie), Lewis took all the blame for how the first fight played out, but vowed to right the wrongs when he rematches Ngannou.

“I blame myself,” Lewis said. “It really wasn’t his fault. I’m not gonna sit up here and blame him. I’m gonna say it was my fault mostly. I came in that fight in half-assed training and didn’t take care of my body the way I was supposed to that fight, so I blame myself. Now that I’m more experienced, I know that what I need to do to really get the job done.”

Waiting On Ngannou

Last week, Dana White said that the UFC has failed to reach an agreement with Jon Jones, and that Lewis is the frontrunner for a shot at the title. ‘The Black Beast’ revealed that he has agreed to fight Ngannou, and they are waiting on ‘The Predator’ to get the deal done.

“I don’t even know if I can be talking about all of this,” Lewis said. “But something’s going to happen. We’re just waiting on Francis. I got the fight, so I’m just really waiting on Francis to pick what date he wants to get in on. They gave him some dates, some months, so we’re just waiting on him to respond. August is looking real good right now, so they’re going to see what it’s like in August for him.”

Bold Prediction

When the two get locked inside the Octagon once more, Lewis said that he’s going to catch Ngannou early in the fight to win the belt.

“It’s gonna be a fun fight,” Lewis said. “We both learned a lot from that. We both improved since that fight, so it’s gonna have to be a fun fight. Too many rounds are gonna be involved in this fight. It’s gonna be five rounds, so it’s not gonna be five rounds of snooze fest. It’s gonna be five rounds of swinging and banging, so it’s gonna be interesting to see. I’m excited for it.

“I will say the first exchange, I’ll knock him out in the first exchange. I almost knocked out Curtis [Blaydes] in the first exchange, too, but he got on that bike and he took off running. I feel that in my heart, especially if he comes out the way he’s been coming out to all his other guys, especially the way he came out against [Jairzinho] Rozenstruik. If he tries to come out and fight me the same way, then I’ll knock him out for sure.”

Both men are coming off vicious second-round knockout victories. Lewis finished Curtis Blaydes at UFC Vegas 19, while Ngannou stopped Stipe Miocic at UFC 260 to win the heavyweight title.

Do you think Derrick Lewis will beat Francis Ngannou again to win the UFC heavyweight title?

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