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This edition of The Film Room puts “The Black Beast” under the microscope.
Lewis is one of the most powerful heavyweights in the division, with all but two of his UFC wins coming by knockout or technical knockout. Despite having enjoyed success on the ground throughout his career, Lewis lives by the “Swangin’ and Bangin’” mantra. He openly admits he only trains two hours a day and never learned a proper takedown, yet he continues to take out some of the best heavyweights in the world on the feet and on the ground. He is far from a technical striker, but it has not mattered. He has bested far superior strikers with his power and aggression, along with the incredible ability to eat punches and keep moving forward. Many fans and media members will tell you this take-one-to-give-one mentality does not work at the highest levels, but it has garnered Lewis a 21-6 professional record.
Lewis has his moments of patience inside the cage, but generally, he walks forward with wild punches looking for the finish or to back opponents to the cage, where they cannot escape his pressure. Although this is generally not a smart way to fight, it works for Lewis. He knows he is not going to out-technique the best of the best. See his fight with former Bellator MMA champion Alexander Volkov. However, Lewis believes his power and ability to take a punch is second to none and that he is never out of a fight until the bell rings or the ref calls it off. Again, see his fight with Volkov. So instead of attempting to match technique, he knows it is smarter for him to rely on his natural abilities.
Of course, a style like the one to which Lewis adheres leaves him open defensively. All four of Lewis’ losses in the UFC have been finishes, and one can only take so many punches from the massive men who populate the heavyweight division. It is only a matter of time before his chin deteriorates, and at 34 years old and with 27 fights under his belt, it will probably happen sooner than later.
Lewis is a surprisingly good grappler for someone who admits he never wrestles in camp. He gets taken down easily, but once the fight hits the ground, his strength has been enough for him to reverse position and end up on top more often than not. No one expects the fight with dos Santos to go to the floor, but if it does, Lewis may have a slight advantage, even though dos Santos is a longtime black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. “The Black Beast” has out-grappled much better grapplers than himself in the past, and it would not be surprising to see him do it again.
If the fight spills onto the mat, Lewis has relentless ground-and-pound, with most of his UFC knockouts resulting from ground strikes. He is far from a technical and thoughtful grappler, but with heavyweights, that oftentimes does not matter. If you can finish a fight in seconds on the ground, what is the point in attempting to pass guard and get into dominant positions? An elite guard passer like Cain Velasquez is something to behold, but that guard passing is nullified when all it takes is a few ground strikes to end a fight.