UFC Vegas 45: Head-to-head look at Derrick Lewis vs. Chris Daukaus

The final UFC fight card of 2021, UFC Vegas 45, takes place on Saturday and the main event features two heavyweight knockout artists. In one corner is former title challenger Derrick Lewis. In the other is Chris Daukaus, a relative newcomer to the ranks of the UFC heavyweight division.

Lewis, who has been with the UFC since 2014 tends to rely on his power to wrap things up. Lewis, who is tied with Matt Brown for the most knockouts in UFC history with 12, lands 2.49 significant strikes per minute. Daukaus, who has four UFC fights and four knockouts to his name, uses an overwhelming amount of volume in pursuit of his finishes. Daukaus lands 9.03 significant strikes per minute in the UFC. What makes that number even more impressive for a heavyweight is that Daukaus’ striking accuracy is 53 percent.

Daukaus has not been past the midpoint of the second round in any of his UFC fights and he hasn’t gone the three round distance in a bout since 2016. In fact, that 2016 decision win over Jeffrey Blachly in Cage Fury is the only time Daukaus has gone past the second round as a professional. His matchup opposite Lewis is scheduled as a five-round scrap.

With his history, we’re left to wonder how Daukaus’ cardio and output will fare if he goes deep into a fight. We know Lewis can fight into the “championship rounds.” We also know that even if his cardio fails him, Lewis can reset and recharge to throw punches with incredible power.

On paper, it appears the battle between Lewis and Daukaus will come down to power or volume.

UFC Vegas 45 takes place on Saturday, December 18 from UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The entire fight card streams on ESPN+. Check out the stats below to see how Lewis and Daukaus compare in important categories ahead of their main event matchup.