UFC 230 Primer: Derrick Lewis Is the Right Man for the Job, But for the Wrong Reasons

Just a few weeks ago, the UFC was scrambling to find a worthy fight for the UFC 230 main event. They couldn’t quite pin down Nate Diaz and Dustin Poirier for a co-main event slot, so never mind trying to get them to be the marquee bout. Then they were going to have Valentina Shevchenko face Sijara Eubanks, which would’ve sucked to high hell. Nothing was coming together.

Then Derrick Lewis has a come-from-behind win against Alexander Volkov at UFC 229, and when Lewis got on the mic afterwards he made the audience laugh.

BOOM. Now Lewis is facing double-champ Daniel Cormier this weekend, and UFC 230 has a main event.

Lewis actually stated after UFC 229 that he wasn’t keen on a title shot just yet. And Cormier was supposed to be waiting for Brock Lesnar or Jon Jones. But since UFC 230 is a Madison Square Garden show – and the UFC has to at least try to make those pay-per-views special – the event needed some extra special secret sauce.

It needed a title fight.

Lewis was the only warm body available.

Maybe Lewis would’ve earned himself a shot the old fashioned way. Maybe he would’ve gotten past top challengers like ex-champ Stipe Miocic, or Francis Ngannou, or even Alistair Overeem. But that’s doubtful.

Sure, Lewis could land a lucky punch and put Cormier away. The champ might even slip on a banana peel and bang his head against an Octagon post, starting a chain reaction that ends with Lewis’ hand raised.

But again, that’s doubtful, too. Clearly, Lewis is here for all the wrong reasons.

At least we have a main event for UFC 230, though. Am I right?