Derrick Lewis played with fire in the first round of the UFC Fight Night 174 headliner.
“The Black Beast” elected to engage on the ground with Alexey Oleynik in the opening five minutes of their heavyweight clash at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday, and it very nearly cost him. Twice Oleynik locked up Lewis in a scarf hold headlock, and though the squeeze appeared to be tight, the Houston native managed to survive until the final horn.
Lewis admitted on the ESPN+ post-fight show that the second choke was especially dire.