UFC Fight Night 146 takes place March 9 and will mark the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s first visit to Wichita, Kansas. Headlining the event is a pivotal heavyweight contest between Derrick Lewis and former champion Junior dos Santos.
Lewis (21-6 1NC) is coming off a failed attempt at claiming the heavyweight title following his loss to Daniel Cormier at UFC 230. He’ll look to get back in the win column, having won nine of his last 11 fights. “The Black Beast” is currently ranked as the third-best heavyweight in the world by Sherdog while ESPN has him fourth and the UFC rate him as the No. 3 contender. A win over dos Santos will likely not get him another title shot but could earn him a bout with Stipe Miocic or a Francis Ngannou rematch.
As for dos Santos (20-5), the Brazilian is on a two-fight winning streak for the first time since 2012 and will look to make it three in a row as he attempts to become a two-time heavyweight champion. Sherdog, ESPN and the UFC rankings all has “Cigano” as the eighth-best heavyweight in the world and a win over Lewis would undoubtedly see him climb the rankings.
In the co-main event, Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos (20-5) takes on Curtis Millender (17-3) in a welterweight contest. Both fighters are unranked by Sherdog and ESPN. However, dos Santos is the No. 14-ranked contender in the UFC’s rankings. A seventh consecutive win for “Capoeira” could see him climb the rankings further, while Millender could enter the top 15 of the rankings for the first time if he gets his hand raised. The 31-year-old has won nine straight fights since his last loss in 2015, including three straight wins under the UFC’s banner since debuting last year.
Former World Series of Fighting heavyweight champion Blagoy Ivanov (16-2 1 NC) is also in action on the main card as he welcomes Ben Rothwell (36-10) back to the Octagon. Like the co-main event, both heavyweights are unranked by Sherdog and ESPN, with Rothwell having last fought in 2016. Ivanov is ranked No. 15 in the UFC’s rankings, though.
There are ranked mixed martial artists in the prelims as well as a women’s bantamweight bout between Marion Reneau and Yana Kunitskaya will be taking place. Reneau (9-4-1) is coming off a loss to Cat Zingano but is still ranked as the eight-best 135-lb fighter in the world by Sherdog, ninth by ESPN and is the No. 6 contender in the UFC rankings.
Meanwhile, Kunitskaya (11-4 1 NC) is unranked by Sherdog but is rated as the 10th-best bantamweight in the world by ESPN and is the No. 9-ranked contender in the UFC rankings. The Russian last won a unanimous decision victory over Lina Lansberg after making her UFC debut in a failed featherweight title attempt against Cris Cyborg.
Lastly, Matt Schnell (12-4) will take on Louis Smolka (15-5) in a bantamweight contest in the prelims. Schnell is ranked No. 15 in the UFC flyweight rankings, but given the uncertainty surrounding the division, could be making a permanent move to 135.