Derrick Lewis sent a strong statement to the top fighters in the UFC heavyweight division after flattening Travis Browne with a devastating knockout in the main event on Sunday night from Halifax.
Lewis had been asking the UFC to give him a higher-ranked opponent. His wish was granted as Browne accepted the fight while looking to stop a two-fight skid in his most recent performances.
Browne — also known, perhaps better known, as Ronda Rousey’s boyfriend — relocated to Las Vegas for this training camp to fix some of the errors that cost him in recent performance, and as the fight got underway it appeared that everything was going to plan.
Browne used a potent attack of kicks to the body to chop away at Lewis, who showed the ill effects of that game plan almost instantaneously as he grabbed at his midsection after the first shot landed flush.
In the second round, Lewis came after Browne with a heavy barrage of strikes as he got inside while blasting away with devastating power to the head and the body. Lewis threw a haymaker on the feet that ricocheted off of the top of Browne’s head during an exchange later in the round that rattled him before he wobbled and fell to the mat.
See the final moments of #UFCHalifax as Derrick Lewis overpowers Hapa and finishes w/ devastating ground and pound. https://t.co/DplJCPRUd4
— FS1 (@FS1) February 20, 2017
Lewis had no intention of letting Browne get back up again. He followed him to the mat and unleashed several monstrous punches before referee Mario Yamasaki finally stepped in to stop the carnage.
Lewis got his sixth win in a row while toppling a legitimate top-10 competitor in the process. He stated he doesn’t plan on fighting any time in the next few months after a very busy schedule to close out 2016 before his second straight main event to kick off 2017.
“I need a break. Fighting every other month or every two months like that puts me in a bad mood at home with my family,” Lewis said. “So I feel like I just need some time off. I don’t want to hear nothing about no fighting for the next three months.
“All the training and all the sex I’ve been getting, my body needs some time off.”
Lewis said on the FS1 post-fight show that he would like to face Mark Hunt when he returns. Considering the kind of knockout power Hunt possesses combined with Lewis’ explosive strength, that might be a heavyweight dream matchup come true.
This article originally appeared on Fox Sports.
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