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UFC Fight Night viewers guide

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UFC Fight Night viewers guide

It isn’t unusual for a UFC Fight Night’s fundamental occasion to eclipse all that’s scheduled to come back earlier than on that night, a minimum of within the anticipation for the fights. That isn’t the case for Saturday’s UFC Fight Night headliner contained in the promotion’s Apex facility in Las Vegas.

Now, that is nothing towards heavyweights Derrick Lewis (23-7, 1 NC; 14-5 within the UFC) and Aleksei Oleinik (59-13-1, 8-4 UFC). Lewis is a fan favourite and a former UFC title challenger. Oleinik is coming off a win towards a former champion, Fabricio Werdum, and is using a two-fight successful streak — which is tied for the longest of his UFC profession — at age 43.

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One of the UFC’s biggest sluggers will take on a veteran submission ace in Saturday’s Fight Night main event. Heavyweight contender Derrick Lewis faces Aleksei Oleinik, who is seeking his 60th career win. The 43-year-old Oleinik has 48 career submission wins.

UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Oleinik
• Saturday, Las Vegas
Prelims: +, 6 p.m. ET
Main card: +, 9 p.m. ET

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But that said, if you’re tuning into UFC Fight Night on Saturday, it’s likely you’re doing so to see more than just the main event. As far as the UFC’s heavyweight division is concerned, all of the focus is on next week, when defending champion Stipe Miocic and ex-champ Daniel Cormier meet for the third time.

There are plenty of storylines to monitor this weekend, however, scattered up and down the card. Here are a few to look for:

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By the numbers

10: Knockouts by Lewis in his UFC career, tying him with Cain Velasquez and Junior Dos Santos for the most in heavyweight history. But Lewis has not finished an opponent in his past four bouts.

Frank Mir8
Aleksei Oleinik6
Stefan Struve6
Fabricio Werdum4
Gabriel Gonzaga4

14: Ezekiel choke finishes by Oleinik. Two have been in the UFC — and there has been only one other in promotion history. A rundown of other Oleinik submissions: rear-naked choke (11), triangle choke (5), neck crank (4), armbar (4), heel hook (3), guillotine choke (2), scarf hold (1), inverted armbar (1), arm triangle choke (1).

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2: Consecutive victories by Oleinik since turning 42 last summer. (He’s now 43.) Only Randy Couture won more fights in a row after turning 42, winning three straight at ages 46, 46 and 47. He also won two in a row at ages 43 and 44. Couture’s six wins after turning 42 are the most in UFC history, with Dan Henderson next, with three, and Oleinik right behind.

34: Takedowns surrendered by Lewis during his UFC career, the most in heavyweight history. His rate of being taken down 1.79 times per fight is also the highest ever among heavyweights (minimum 10 bouts).

6-3: UFC record of Oleinik when he’s an underdog. A seventh such victory on Saturday — he was +180 at Caesars Sportsbook, as of Thursday — would tie him with Andrei Arlovski for most wins as an underdog in UFC heavyweight history. (Lewis is 5-2 as a betting favorite in UFC career.)

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Sources: Stats & Information and UFC Stats

Five vs. five

Derrick Lewis’ most recent results
Win: Ilir Latifi (UD, Feb. 8, 2021; watch on +)
Win: Blagoy Ivanov (SD, Nov. 2, 2019; watch on +)
Loss: Junior Dos Santos (TKO2, March 9, 2019; watch on +)
Loss: Daniel Cormier (SUB2, Nov. 3, 2018)
Win: Alexander Volkov (KO3, Oct. 6, 2018)

Aleksei Oleinik’s most recent results
Win: Fabricio Werdum (SD, May 9, 2021; watch on +)
Win: Maurice Greene (SUB2, Jan. 18, 2021; watch on +)
Loss: Walt Harris (KO1, July 20, 2019; watch on +)
Loss: Alistair Overeem (TKO1, April 20, 2019; watch on +)
Win: Mark Hunt (SUB1, Sept. 15, 2018)

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And the winner is …

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Oleinik is looking at his 74th professional fight on Saturday. There’s no other way to say it: That’s remarkable. That number, in and of itself, is remarkable. And he remains entertaining, because of that savviness on the ground. Lewis is the favorite, rightfully, and should win this fight more often than not — but, of course, if they were to fight multiple times, Oleinik is gonna snatch a submission in a few of them. Guaranteed. It’s hard to pick Oleinik, though, when you say to yourself, “As long as Lewis doesn’t get submitted, I can’t see him losing.” Lewis via TKO, third round.

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Saturday’s fight schedule

+, 9 p.m. ET
Derrick Lewis vs. Aleksei Oleinik | Heavyweight
Chris Weidman vs. Omari Akhmedov | Middleweight
Darren Stewart vs. Maki Pitolo | Middleweight
Yana Kunitskaya vs. Julija Stoliarenko | Women’s bantamweight
Beneil Dariush vs. Scott Holtzman | Lightweight
+, 6 p.m. ET
Tim Means vs. Laureano Staropoli | Welterweight
Kevin Holland vs. Joaquin Buckley | Middleweight
Nasrat Haqparast vs. Alex Munoz Muñoz | Lightweight
Andrew Sanchez vs. Wellington Turman | Middleweight
Gavin Tucker vs. Justin Jaynes | Men’s featherweight
Youssef Zalal vs. Peter Barrett | Men’s featherweight
Irwin Rivera vs. Ali Al-Qaisi | Men’s bantamweight


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What else to look for … beyond the main event

It’s been three years since we’ve seen ex-champ Chris Weidman’s arms raised in victory. Ed Mulholland/Getty Images

The co-main question: To finish or not get finished?

There’s an interesting clash of expectations going into the co-main event between former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman and former Dagestan combat sambo champ Omari Akhmedov:

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Five more things to know (from Stats & Information)

1. Justin Jaynes, who will face off against Gavin Tucker in a featherweight prelim, was last seen making a statement in his very first UFC appearance. On June 20, Jaynes knocked out Frank Camacho in 41 seconds, the second-fastest debut finish in lightweight history.

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2. Andrew Sanchez, who meets Wellington Turman, has the fifth-highest striking rate in middleweight history (4.92 per minute).

3. Nasrat Haqparast has knocked down four of his five UFC opponents and has the highest knockdown rate among active lightweights (1.16 per 15 minutes), the best striking defense in 155-pound history (74.1%) and the fifth-highest striking differential ever in the division (+1.87 per minute). He takes on the unbeaten Alex Munoz (6-0).

4. Tim Means, a veteran of 21 UFC bouts, has the ninth-highest striking rate in welterweight history (5.09 per minute). He fights the Laureano Staropoli of Argentina in the featured prelim.

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5. Beneil Dariush, who opens the main card in a lightweight bout with Scott Holtzman, has finished his past three opponents and is tied for the ninth-most wins (12) and finishes (7) in division history. Holtzman has the third-best takedown accuracy among active lightweights (60.0%).

Jeff Wagenheim contributed to this fight card preview.

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