At tonight's UFC 244 pay-per-view at the Madison Square Garden in New York City, Derrick Lewis marked his return to the Octagon with a dominant win over Blagoy Ivanov via unanimous decision.
UFC 244: Derrick Lewis' return to the Octagon
The fight started off with Lewis being taken down in the early stages and getting dominated for almost about the opening two minutes by Ivanov. However, it didn't take Lewis long to bounce back into the fight as he got back up and connected with some solid punches. But Ivanov managed to end the round with proper composure and didn't allow Lewis to do much for the rest of the round.
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The fight resumed in the second round as Lewis went all guns blazing, stunning Ivanov, who still managed to survive for the time being. Ivanov finally got a grip of the fight and got another successful takedown on Lewis, as he tried to lock his right arm. However, Lewis managed to get back to his feet and threw some hard punches only for Ivanov to stay on both his feet. In the closing stages of the round, Ivanov fired towards his opponent as Lewis went down to the floor and the former locked in the guillotine, but the round comes to a close.
The third round began with Lewis looking for his opportunity for a breakthrough but instead Ivanov managed to work his way into a flurry of combinations. As Lewis got his back pressed against the cage, he tried to hit a few underhooks in order to get free. With Lewis missing on a trip, Ivanov once again got hold of the fight but Lewis fought his way out and tried to get the proper finish, but couldn't manage to do so.
Nevertheless, Lewis did enough to win the fight via unanimous decision and mark his return to the Octagon with a win.
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