Following a quick lightweight match to open UFC 244, Saturday's pay-per-view turned to the big boys in the heavyweight division.
No. 5-ranked Derrick Lewis, riding a two-fight losing streak, took on No. 8-ranked Blagoy Ivanov, winner of seven of his last eight matches, in an absolute thriller that surprisingly went the distance. There was no shortage of haymakers thrown during the match, but both fighters showed tremendous resilience and battled through three rounds.
Although Ivanov scored more takedowns (3 vs Lewis' 1) throughout the fight and attempted multiple Americana submissions, Lewis successfully defended each of them and scored more significant strikes; Ivanov actually landed more total strikes. But Ivanov was also wearing the damage on his face.
The result was a judges' split decision win for Derrick Lewis (30-27 Lewis, 29-28 Ivanov, 29-28 Lewis), who treated the crowd to another ridiculous/hilarious post-fight interview.
It was Lewis' 13th win in the UFC heavyweight division, tying him for third-most along with Junior Dos Santos and Stipe Miocic. Andrei Arlovski has the most UFC heavyweight wins with 16.