UFC Vegas 68 Preview (Lewis vs. Spivak) (Copy)
The UFC will be heading back to the Apex in Nevada for UFC Vegas 68 with a date and start time fans are not accustomed with. The event will take place on Sunday, February 5th and the main event will be headlined by a heavyweight battle between former title challenger #7 Derrick Lewis and #12 Sergei Spivak. The main card start time will be 1 a.m. EST/ 10 p.m. PST with the prelims kicking off at 10 p.m. EST/ 7 p.m. PST.
The purpose of the unusual start time is due to the event originally being scheduled to take place in Seoul, South Korea. The event was pulled after Korean fan-favorite Chan Sung Jung “The Korean Zombie” suffered an injury and could not fight in January or February. The UFC adjusted the start times to give UFC fans in Asia a chance to watch the event as there are 14 fighters on the card hailing from Asian countries.
Lewis is trying to rebound from two straight KO losses. He is 1-3 in his last four fights with one of the losses coming to Ciryl Gane for the interim heavyweight title. While Lewis is still a fan-favorite, he is far from the title threat he once was. But in the heavyweight division, you are two wins away from being put back into the title conversation, so a win against Spivak will be the turn around Lewis needs.
While fans and critics might think Lewis is on the back end of his career, he is out to prove he is still the same fighter that fought for a title. “I know everybody is looking at me with one eye right now like, ‘Um, I don’t know,’ so I’m gonna go out there and show them that I’m still that guy,” Lewis said.
The Black Beast continued, “It’s crazy because now I feel like while I’ve been taking my training camp serious, people aren’t taking me serious.”
Lewis explained he has a new mentality about training. “It’s a great feeling going to the gym now. I’m not getting sick of doing my training regimen. I’m real happy about even going to training now.”
“I got addicted to winning, I’m winning in life, but I also want to win in the Octagon, as well. I miss that feeling — it’s almost been a year since I had that feeling, had that sensation, so that’s what I’m chasing right now is being a winner.”
Lewis has key victories in his career over Curtis Blaydes, Aleksei Oleinik, Ilir Latifi, Blagoy Ivanov, Alexander Volkov, Francis Ngannou, Marcin Tybura, Travis Browne, Roy Nelson and Gabriel Gonzaga. He holds the UFC record with 13 knockouts and with another knockout victory against Spivak, he will remind the heavyweight division that he still as dangerous as ever.
Spivak is 5-1 in his last six fights and most recently defeated Augusto Sakai by TKO in August. The 28-year-old is 6-3 in the UFC is currently on a two-fight winning streak. The Moldovan fighter also has key victories in the UFC over Greg Hardy, Aleksei Oleinik, and Tai Tuivasa. A win over Lewis would be the biggest of his career and would solidify his name as a threat to the heavyweight title.
The rest of the main card:
Light Heavyweight - Da Un Jung vs. Devin Clark
Heavyweight - Marcin Tybura vs. Blagoy Ivanov
Featherweight - Choi Doo-ho vs. Kyle Nelson
Welterweight - Yusaku Kinoshita vs. Adam Fugitt
ESPN + Prelims:
Flyweight - Seung Guk Choi vs. Sung Hyun Park
Bantamweight - Toshiomi Kazama vs. Rinya Nakamura
Featherweight - Jeong Yeong Lee vs. Yi Zha –
Lightweight - Anshul Jubli vs. Jeka Saragih –
Flyweight - Mandy Bohm vs. Ji Yeon Kim
Flyweight - Jesus Santos Aguilar vs. Tatsuro Taira
Middleweight - Junyong Park vs. Denis Tiuliulin
