UFC FIght Night 146 Wichita PREVIEW -- Derrick Lewis, Junior Dos Santos in potential title eliminator

The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is headed to Wichita, Kansas for the first time for UFC Fight Night 146. Former UFC Heavyweight Champion, Junior dos Santos and former title contender Derrick Lewis will headline the main event. Aside from the action-packed main event, Elizue Zaleski Dos Santos will put his six-fight UFC winning streak on the line against the towering Curtis Millender in the Welterweight division for the co-main event of the night.

Heavyweight Bout (Main Event) – Derrick Lewis vs Junior Dos Santos

Heavyweight knockout artists Derrick Lewis and Junior Dos Santos will clash at Intrust Bank Arena in a pivotal fight as the winner will remain a constant threat to jump into championship contention.

Fighters Profile:

Derrick Lewis –

After being defeated at UFC 230 by Heavyweight Champion Daniel Cormier, ‘The Black Beast’ is ready to get back to his winning ways against former champion Junior Dos Santos. Prior to his setback, the ferocious power puncher from Houston has won nine of his past 10 fights with seven knockouts. When asked about his expectations from this fight, Lewis said, “Hopefully it will be an entertaining fight. I’m always hoping for an entertaining fight, hopefully he will bring out the best fighter in myself and vice versa. You know I can always hope for a great fight but you never know who’s gonna show up and what’s gonna happen in the fight. The best version of myself is going in there and knocking him out in the first round.”

To return to the win column this weekend, Lewis has to go through one of the most accomplished heavyweights on the roster. A win over ‘Cigano’ would help solidify Derrick Lewis as one of the top contenders in the division and keep him in the title picture.

Junior Dos Santos –

Junior Dos Santos is a former champion with a string of notable wins on his resume including victories against Stipe Miocic, Cain Velasquez and Mark Hunt. When asked about what he thinks about his opponent ‘Cigano’ replied, “I don’t care about him, I can beat all of them, just like I did it in the past and I’ll do it again. I have the ability and the speed to beat him. I have the knockout power combined with the experience of Jiu Jitsu, Muay Thai and that makes me a well-rounded fighter. The world can expect a very fast Junior Dos Santos who is floating like a butterfly and knocking down his opponents by stinging them like a bee.”

Dos Santos might have the best boxing skills in the entire division but he faces a heavyweight with arguably the most power in the sport. This is a clash of speed and technique against raw power and only one man will be left standing when it’s over.

Welterweight Bout (Co-Main Event) – Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos vs Curtis Millender

The Welterweight division has a new champion in Kamaru Usman and this matchup between Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos and Curtis Millender will feature two of the best prospects who could one day challenge him for that title.

Fighters Profile:

Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos –

Elizeu Zaleski Dos Santos suffered a razor close split decision loss in his UFC debut but since then he has never looked back and rattled off six straight wins including back-to-back knockouts against Sean Strickland and Luigi Vendramini. Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos hasn’t lost a fight since his 2015 bout against Nicolas Dalby and is probably enjoying the best stretch of his career at only 32 years old.

Curtis Millender –

Curtis Millender is currently 3-0 in the UFC with an impressive streak of wins over Thiago Alves, Max Griffin and Siyar Bahadurzada. Millender is dangerous with his hands and violent with his legs and knees. In terms of fight experience, Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos and Millender are evenly paired, but the American has a five inch reach advantage and is also three inches taller than the Brazilian.

Both these fighters come into this bout on a back of an impressive winning streak and the winner of this fight will be positioned for a run at the top 10 in 2019 so this a huge opportunity for both athletes.

Watch UFC Fight Night: Derrick Lewis vs Junior Dos Santos  on 10^th March 2019 at 6.30 am Live and Exclusively in India on SONY SIX and SONY SIX HD Channels

MSL Media Release