With three straight stoppage wins in less than a year, the UFC might have a new heavyweight contender on its hands.
Serghei Spivac (16-3 MMA, 7-3 UFC) made easy work of two-time title challenger Derrick Lewis (26-11 MMA, 17-9 UFC) with a first-round submission Saturday in the UFC Fight Night 218 main event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Then he said he wants the winner of the upcoming vacant heavyweight title fight between Jon Jones and Ciryl Gane – and hopes it’s Jones.
“Derrick Lewis is great,” Spivac said in his post-fight interview in the cage. “He fought two times for the title. He’s great. He’s a legend. Today, it’s just my time. The ‘Polar Bear’ is here. The ‘Polar Bear’ is coming.
“Give me someone from the top five. If I tell Jon Jones or Ciryl Gane (I want the winner), they’ll make the fight? I want Jon Jones. Jon Jones, I respect you so much. Sorry, bro – but I’m coming.”
The big men tie up quickly after the fight started, and Spivac landed a hip toss and put Lewis on his back. Spivac went to work from side control and looked initially for a potential arm-triangle choke.
Lewis gave his back and Spivac got heavy on top with punches. About two minutes in, Lewis got to his feet, but Spivac immediately dropped him back down. Seconds later, the same thing happened – but Spivac put Lewis back on the canvas head first. Midway through the round, it happened again. Then again.
Lewis got up, then was taken back down on repeat. Each time, Spivac landed a few more punches while Lewis covered up. With about two minutes left, Spivac put Lewis on his back and decided to chase the arm-triangle choke. He got it with ease, and Lewis tapped quickly.
SERGHEI SPIVAC SUBMITS LEWIS IN ROUND 1 🗜 #UFCVegas68 pic.twitter.com/qSlnn4mnBv
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) February 5, 2023
Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 218 results include:
- Serghei Spivac def. Derrick Lewis via submission (arm-triangle choke) – Round 1, 3:05
- Devin Clark vs. Da-un Jung via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Marcin Tybura def. Blagoy Ivanov via unanimous decision (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 via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 4:36
- Anshul Jubli def. Jeka Saragih via TKO (strikes) – Round 2, 3:44 – to win “Road to UFC” lightweight tournament
- Jeong Yeong Lee vs. Yi Zha via split decision (27-30, 29-28, 29-28) – to win “Road to UFC” featherweight tournament
- Rinya Nakamura def. Toshiomi Kazama via knockout (punch) – Round 1, 0:33 – to win “Road to UFC” bantaweight tournament
- Sung Hyun Park def. Seung Guk Choi via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 3, 3:11 – to win “Road to UFC” flyweight tournament
- Junyong Park def. Denis Tiuliulin technical submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 4:05
- Tatsuro Taira def. Jesus Santos Aguilar via verbal submission (armbar) – Round 1, 4:20
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 218.
