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UFC heayvweight Marcos Rogerio de Lima is ready to take on the higher echelon of his division after scoring a unanimous decision win last Satuday. Paired up against Waldo Cortes-Acosta, ‘Pezao’ now aims the top 15 and has his sights set on the man with the most knockout wins in UFC history: none other than Derrick Lewis.
Marcos Rogerio de Lima promises a banger vs. Derrick Lewis
While speaking about his next move at the UFC Vegas 72 post-fight press conference, de Lima mentioned a specific reason why he wants to take on the ‘Black Beast’. For the Brazilian, it all comes down to living up to the fans’ expectations. Once he and Derrick Lewis meet in the Octagon, Rogerio guarantees the fight will be an exciting one.
To give an example about unfulfilled expectations, de Lima mentioned what happened in July 2018, at UFC 226, when former heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou picked up a shocking defeat in the prime of his career when he lost Derrick Lewis via unanimous decision in a fight that saw little to no action for all of its 15 minutes. Should the promotion let Pezao take on the Black Beast, the Brazilian guarantees such a thing will not happen on his watch.
“I know that my place is among the top 15 of the division,” Rogerio told MMA Junkie and other reporters. “There was a fight that was made a long time ago with (Francis) Ngannou and Derrick Lewis, and everyone thought it was going to be a big explosion in the cage, but it wasn’t. Ngannou didn’t engage and it was a boring fight. I do believe that if I fight Derrick Lewis that it will be explosive.”
Derrick Lewis holds the record for most KO’s in UFC history
Though Ngannou left the UFC earlier this year, getting stripped of the heavyweight belt in the process, Derrick Lewis (26-11-1 NC) is still an active athlete in the division. However, the Black Beast is not on the best moment of his career, currently on a three-fight losing skid, with losses to Sergey Spivak, Sergei Pavlovich and Tai Tuivasa. In fact, the 38-year-old’s last win took place in December 2021, when he knocked out Chris Daukaus.
Nonetheless, Derrick Lewis still stands alone as the man with the record for most knockout wins in the UFC, at 13. Having lost by submission to Spivak back in February of this year, the Black Beast does not have any other fights booked for the time being, which could be good news for de Lima.
Marcos Rogerio de Lima 100% satisfied with latest win
When it comes to his own performance against Cortes-Acosta last Saturday, Marcos Rogerio de Lima has no complaints about it, even though he could not get a finish this time around. Though the Brazilian has a high percentage of finishes over decision wins, he was happy to show how could also be a strategic fighter.
“I give myself a 10,” Rogerio said regarding his performance. “I’m improving in every area. Waldo is a great fighter. I had to really bring the strategy to the fight and to not let him go with the boxing. I came ready. I did my homework, and I’m ready to go ahead and move forward.”
The win at UFC Vegas 72 put Marcos Rogerio de Lima (21-8-1) on a two-fight winning streak, with a submission win over former champion Andrei Arlovski before his most recent one, back in October 2022. The 37-year-old’s latest loss took place in May 2022, when he dropped a unanimous decision to Blagoy Ivanov. In fact, Pezao was on another two-fight streak prior to the loss, having beat Ben Rothwell and Maurice Greene.
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