In the Clinch: Derrick Lewis vs. Chris Daukaus, UFC Vegas 45 – The preamble for this fight has been entertaining, to say the least. It is clear that Derrick Lewis knows he needs to put likable Chris Daukaus away.
If you haven’t seen these two talk about their upcoming fight this Saturday, fire it up now from the UFC YouTube channel. You’ll enjoy the candidness of Lewis (25-8-0), 36, admitting he put too much pressure on himself as the hometown hero in his last fight. His last fight was 13 years to the day of his release from prison. And the one-liners, wow. Let’s just say that he does not want to get embarrassed by a cop on Saturday.
Then there’s Daukaus (12-3-0), 32, the former police officer as of Dec. 1, who genuinely likes Lewis, but is also aiming to knock his block off. He’s looking for it to be as straightforward as his previous five straight TKO victories. He’s appreciative, but he kind of needs to get this title shot thing going because there’s no real plan B in his life.
Something has to give on Saturday.
Daukaus comes in as the smaller fighter, ranked at No. 7, but he’s probably the more technical fighter. He has grappling skills that could come in handy. He understands, from watching Lewis for a long time, that he has deceptive cardio and cage smarts. Daukaus feels that if he can avoid the big shots, his skills will prevail.
Meanwhile, “The Black Beast” is a happy-go-lucky kind of guy, but he’s looking for his 21st knockout and another title shot in Houston, too. The Apex should be more relaxing for him, with a smaller audience. He is the bigger guy with a win over the champion, Francis Ngannou, and he knows what he can do.
Both fighters want to put on a show. Lewis simply wants to put food on the table for his family and fight for the title. Daukaus wants to jumpstart his career.
This fight could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
In the Clinch: Derrick Lewis vs. Chris Daukaus, UFC Vegas 45- More Resources
- Beckett Card Catalog – Derrick Lewis UFC Cards
- Secondary Market Pricing – Derrick Lewis UFC Cards
- 2021 Panini UFC Prizm Trading Cards Checklist
- 2021 Panini Immaculate UFC Trading Cards
In the Clinch: Derrick Lewis vs. Chris Daukaus, UFC Vegas 45 – Image Gallery
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