Lewis has followed back-to-back losses to Daniel Cormier and Junior dos Santos with consecutive victories over Blagoy Ivanov and Ilir Latifi, reaffirming himself as an upper-shelf heavyweight. The 35-year-old New Orleans native remains one of MMA’s most feared power hitters, with 18 of his 23 career victories having come by knockout or technical knockout.
Still effective well into his 40s, Oleynik enters the cage with the wind of a two-fight winning streak in his sails. “The Boa Constrictor” last competed at UFC 249 on May 9, when he eked out a split decision over former heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum. One of the sport’s most prolific grapplers, Oleynik has delivered 46 of his 59 professional wins by submission.
UFC Fight Night 174—which streams to ESPN+ at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT—also features a middleweight tilt pairing Darren Stewart with Maki Pitolo, a women’s bantamweight clash pitting Yana Kunitskaya against Julija Stoliarenko and a lightweight affair matching Beneil Dariush with Scott Holtzman. ESPN+ will also provide coverage of the seven-fight undercard, starting at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT.
A closer look at the UFC Fight Night 174 “Lewis vs. Oleynik” particulars:
THE LINEUP
265: Derrick Lewis vs. Alexey Oleynik185: Chris Weidman vs. Omari Akhmedov
185: Darren Stewart vs. Maki Pitolo
135: Yana Kunitskaya vs. Julija Stoliarenko
155: Beneil Dariush vs. Scott Holtzman
170: Tim Means vs. Laureano Staropoli
185: Kevin Holland vs. Joaquin Buckley
155: Nasrat Haqparast vs. Alex Munoz
185: Wellington Turman vs. Andrew Sanchez
145: Gavin Tucker vs. Justin Jaynes
145: Youssef Zalal vs. Peter Barrett
135: Irwin Rivera vs. Ali AlQaisi
THE RUNDOWN
• Preview: The Main Card• Preview: The Prelims
• Weigh-in Report
• By The Numbers: Lewis vs. Oleynik
• By The Numbers: Weidman vs. Akhmedov
• Prime Picks
Related Coverage »
• Sherdog’s Official Mixed Martial Arts Rankings
• Sherdog’s Pound-for-Pound Top 10 Rankings
• Sherdog’s WMMA Pound-for-Pound Top 10 Rankings
• The Bottom Line: Red Flags
• The Big Picture: The Things That Matter