On this day in 2018, a UFC fight that promised to deliver devastating punches and a brutal knockout…well, did not.
UFC 226 took place on July 7, 2018, and is among the promotion’s most memorable events owing to how it ended.
In the main event at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena, then-light heavyweight king Daniel Cormier knocked out Stipe Miocic to capture the heavyweight gold and become a simultaneous two-division UFC champion.
Dana White and co. would have been happy to see that ending and Cormier’s subsequent face-off with Brock Lesnar take attention away from a co-main event that remains one of the worst fights in history.
Derrick Lewis vs Francis Ngannou was ‘the worst heavyweight fight’ Joe Rogan has seen
That fight description remains baffling given who was competing. The UFC 226 co-headliner pitted two of the promotion’s all-time biggest hitters against one another in Derrick Lewis and Francis Ngannou.
But when brutal power met brutal power, the result was a snoozefest.
‘The Black Beast’ and ‘The Predator’ incredibly combined for just 31 total strikes across three rounds, according to Fightmetric. Despite pleas from John Wood in his corner, Ngannou refused to engage and threw just 46 strikes during the contest, as he fell to a disappointing unanimous decision defeat months on from a one-sided title loss to Miocic.
Among those who had a front-row view of the action — or lack thereof — was color commentator Joe Rogan. And while reflecting on the fight during an episode of the Joe Rogan Experience, the podcast host made it clear what he thought of the bout.
“Jesus Christ, it was one for the ages,” Rogan said. “It was the worst heavyweight fight I’ve ever seen.
“It was the second lowest output ever. They didn’t even get to number one. … (Ngannou) released a statement today and his statement was essentially that he carried the fear.”
In his post-fight statement, Ngannou promised to never disappoint his fans with such a performance again. He went on to win his next four fights via first-round KO before getting his revenge against the consensus heavyweight GOAT to win the title in 2021.
Dana White wanted to cut Francis Ngannou after Derrick Lewis dud
Unsurprisingly, Rogan wasn’t alone with his view of the UFC 226 clash between the two heavyweight behemoths.
White was less than pleased with what he had witnessed. And while Lewis also didn’t cover himself in glory, it seemed the Cameroonian caught most of the flak.
Years later, after Ngannou left the promotion as heavyweight champion following a lengthy contractual dispute, the UFC president claimed he even wanted to release Ngannou as a result of the UFC 226 performance.
“I was gonna cut Francis when he lost two in a row,” White told reporters during an October 2024 press conference. “I was gonna cut him. Somebody around here begged me not to do it.”
Given what ‘The Predator’ went on to accomplish, White was saved from a major mistake by those who stopped him from letting Ngannou go.