It wasn’t the barnburner we’ve come to expect from Derrick Lewis, but "Black Beast" got the job done, coming back from a three-round deficit to pound out Russian kickboxer Shamil Abdurakhimov last night (Fri., Dec. 10, 2016) at UFC Fight Night 102 in Albany, New York.
Those three rounds were some of the most execrable of the night. Lewis whiffed badly with his wound-up punches, while Abdurakhimov contented himself with catching kicks for easy takedowns and landing the occasional counter right. He didn’t really do anything with those takedowns, either. In fact, the most significant ground action of the fight came when Lewis spun for a heel hook.