Combat Sports

PREVIEW: UFC Fight Night 218

The UFC is back in full swing with a heavyweight showdown! Fan Favourite Derrick “The Black Beast” Lewis is ready to rumble against a surging finisher, Sergey “Polar Bear” Spivak.

by
Josh Gaillard
February 2, 2023

The UFC is back in full swing with a heavyweight showdown! Fan Favourite Derrick “The Black Beast” Lewis is ready to rumble against a surging finisher, Sergey “Polar Bear” Spivak. Josh Gaillard previews the card.

Two women looking excitedly at cellphone

Main Event

Derrick Lewis 17/10 vs Sergey Spivak 4/10

Derrick Lewis is a scary heavyweight with a penchant for landing knockout punches who is set to take on a surging wrestler who is searching for his 14th career finish.

After two straight losses, Derrick Lewis (26-10) is in pursuit of the win column and adding to his 21 career knockouts as well as extending the all-time UFC record of 13 knockouts. After losing the interim heavyweight belt to Ciryl Gane, Derrick bounced back with an impressive knockout of Chris Daukaus. However, Tai Tuivasa was able to eat a few of Lewis’ punches and defeat him, and his last loss came in controversial circumstances with what looked like an early stoppage. Lewis has now seemingly upped the ante as seen on social media looking leaner and quicker than ever before.

Sergey Spivak (15-3) has found great form after his loss in London against Tom Aspinall. Massive wins over Greg Hardy and Augusto Sakai with round one and round two finishes respectively. The way the 28-year-old utilises his wrestling ability is top-level, but his lack of composure could get the better of him. Now, Sergey faces his biggest to date, a former title challenger and a win here would catapult him up the rankings.

Verdict: Derrick Lewis Win 17/10

The fun part about watching Derrick Lewis is that nothing can be happening and all of a sudden someone can be flat on their back looking up at the lights. A well-versed wrestler with composure and ability to take a few to close the distance can, however, tire out Lewis – especially in a five-round fight.

Sergey Spivak unquestionably has the wrestling ability but hasn’t really shown the composure the go the full five rounds. Lewis can muscle his way out of a takedown, and enough of those exchanges will break Spivak’s confidence. Once Spivak starts swinging wildly and reaching for takedowns it could be lights out.

Co-Main Event

Jung Da-un 38/100 | Devin Clark 18/10

While many may overlook this card due to a lack of high-profile names, I reckon this could be a fight-of-the-year contender.

Jung Da-Un (15-3-1) entered the UFC in exceptional fashion earning a four-fight win streak – including a draw to Sam Alvey. 11 of Jung’s fights have come by way of KO/TKO with two submission wins. The 29-year-old Korean fighter has a well-rounded approach to MMA, but his primary weapon is boxing. His last fight didn’t go to plan when coming up against Dustin Jacoby, suffering his first knockout loss.

32-year-old Devin Clark (13-7) has fought the best of the best the UFC light heavyweight division has to offer. If his name seems familiar, here’s why – Devin has fought against Jan Błachowicz, Aleksandar Rakić, Ryan Spann, Anthony Smith, and Ion Cutelaba. However, he has stumbled at each attempt to really establish himself at the top of the division. He’s on a one-fight loss after being ground and pounded by Azamat Murzakanov back in August last year. With seven wins and seven losses in the UFC, you feel time could be up for the American if he isn’t able to string together a run of wins.

Verdict: Jung Da-un Win 38/100

From a substantial height and reach advantage, Jung Da-un can utilise his boxing abilities from a safe distance against Clark. If taken down, Da-un has shown the technical nous to manoeuvre himself into favourable positions, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he throws in a few takedown attempts to mix up the attack.