MMAOB staff writer Adam Martin takes a deeper look at the main event of UFC Vegas 68, a five-round heavyweight bout between Derrick Lewis and Serghei Spivac. The event takes place on Saturday, February 4 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Serghei Spivac (-230)
Spivac (15-3) is the No. 12 ranked heavyweight in the UFC. The 27-year-old Moldova native joined the UFC back in 2019 and since then he’s gone 6-3 overall in the UFC with wins over the likes of Augusto Sakai, Greg Hardy, and Aleksei Oleinik. Spivac is one of the best grapplers in the division and he’s rapidly improving his finishing skills on the ground. He is still a bit chinny and has been knocked out several times in the Octagon, but overall, he is one of the top young fighters at 265lbs. If he gets by Lewis in this fight, it would set him up for a run in the heavyweight division’s top 10.
Derrick Lewis (+195)
Lewis (26-10, 1 NC) is the No. 7 ranked heavyweight in the UFC. The 37-year-old American has been one of the best heavyweights in the UFC for the past decade, winning fights against the likes of Francis Ngannou, Curtis Blaydes, and Alexander Volkov. He is one of the most powerful punchers we have ever seen in the Octagon and he still carries his devastating KO power at his age. However, his ability to take a punch has waned in recent years. His takedown defense is also not great, making him a flawed fighter. That being said, he always has the chance to KO his opponent. He is the UFC’s all-time leader in knockout wins, so you can never count him out of an MMA fight.
Fight Breakdown: This fight is a re-booking after the pair’s previous contest set for November was scratched on fight day after Lewis was forced to pull out with an illness. Now, three months later, we finally get to see these two lock horns This should be an interesting heavyweight fight between two of the top-15 ranked fighters in the division. Lewis has been one of the top contenders for many years, but he appears to be in the decline phase of his career now that he’s 37 years old. He’s getting knocked out more often these days, and although he still possesses his trademark KO power, he doesn’t have the durability that he once had to survive big exchanges and make it to the end of the 15 minutes. As for Spivac, he’s had some tough losses in his UFC career, but he’s only 27 years old and is constantly improving. Lewis has a puncher’s chance in this fight, and it shouldn’t be a complete shock if he does land that big bomb. But overall, he is just not the same fighter that he once was. Spivac’s grappling should be enough for him to control where this fight takes place, so look for Spivac to take Lewis to the mat and find a way to finish him on the ground by way of TKO.
Prediction: Serghei Spivac
