Serghei Spivac dominates Lewis, calls out Jones

With three straight stoppage wins in lower than a yr, the UFC may need a brand new heavyweight contender on its arms.

Serghei Spivac (16-3 MMA, 7-3 UFC) made straightforward work of two-time title challenger Derrick Lewis (26-11 MMA, 17-9 UFC) with a first-round submission Saturday within the UFC Combat Night time 218 foremost occasion on the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Then he mentioned he desires the winner of the upcoming vacant heavyweight title struggle between Jon Jones and Ciryl Gane – and hopes it’s Jones.

“Derrick Lewis is nice,” Spivac mentioned in his post-fight interview within the cage. “He fought two instances for the title. He’s nice. He’s a legend. Right this moment, it’s simply my time. The ‘Polar Bear’ is right here. The ‘Polar Bear’ is coming.

“Give me somebody from the highest 5. If I inform Jon Jones or Ciryl Gane (I would like the winner), they’ll make the struggle? I would like Jon Jones. Jon Jones, I respect you a lot. Sorry, bro – however I’m coming.”

The massive males tie up shortly after the struggle began, and Spivac landed a hip toss and put Lewis on his again. Spivac went to work from aspect management and seemed initially for a possible arm-triangle choke.

Lewis gave his again and Spivac obtained heavy on high with punches. About two minutes in, Lewis obtained to his toes, however Spivac instantly dropped him again down. Seconds later, the identical factor occurred – however Spivac put Lewis again on the canvas head first. Halfway by means of the spherical, it occurred once more. Then once more.

Lewis obtained up, then was taken again down on repeat. Every time, Spivac landed a number of extra punches whereas Lewis lined up. With about two minutes left, Spivac put Lewis on his again and determined to chase the arm-triangle choke. He obtained it with ease, and Lewis tapped shortly.

SERGHEI SPIVAC SUBMITS LEWIS IN ROUND 1 🗜 #UFCVegas68 pic.twitter.com/qSlnn4mnBv

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) February 5, 2023

Up-to-the-minute UFC Combat Night time 218 outcomes embody:

Serghei Spivac def. Derrick Lewis by way of submission (arm-triangle choke) – Spherical 1, 3:05
Devin Clark vs. Da-un Jung by way of unanimous choice (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Marcin Tybura def. Blagoy Ivanov by way of unanimous choice (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Dooho Choi vs. Kyle Nelson declared majority draw (29-27 Choi, 28-28, 28-28)
Adam Fugitt def. Yusaku Kinoshita by way of TKO (strikes) – Spherical 1, 4:36
Anshul Jubli def. Jeka Saragih by way of TKO (strikes) – Spherical 2, 3:44 – to win “Highway to UFC” light-weight event
Jeong Yeong Lee vs. Yi Zha by way of cut up choice (27-30, 29-28, 29-28) – to win “Highway to UFC” featherweight event
Rinya Nakamura def. Toshiomi Kazama by way of knockout (punch) – Spherical 1, 0:33 – to win “Highway to UFC” bantaweight event
Sung Hyun Park def. Seung Guk Choi by way of submission (rear-naked choke) – Spherical 3, 3:11 – to win “Highway to UFC” flyweight event
Junyong Park def. Denis Tiuliulin technical submission (rear-naked choke) – Spherical 1, 4:05
Tatsuro Taira def. Jesus Santos Aguilar by way of verbal submission (armbar) – Spherical 1, 4:20

For extra on the cardboard, go to MMA Junkie’s occasion hub for UFC Combat Night time 218.