Derrick Lewis vs. Blagoy Ivanov

Get Derrick Lewis vs. Blagoy Ivanov play-by-play updates and live results right here at The Body Lock.

Lewis vs. Ivanov takes place on the UFC 244 pay-per-view main card and will stream exclusively on ESPN+ in the United States. At the top of the main card is a BMF title fight between Jorge Masvidal and Nate Diaz.

UFC 244 play-by-play updates

Main Card

Prelims

Derrick Lewis vs. Blagoy Ivanov play-by-play

Lewis (21-7) has suffered defeat in his last two fights before UFC 244. “The Black Beast” was submitted by Daniel Cormier at UFC 230 before then being stopped by Junior dos Santos in March.

Ivanov (18-2) has bounced back from his defeat to Junior dos Santos by scoring consecutive decision wins against Ben Rothwell and Tai Tuivasa. He steps into UFC 244 with two wins and no defeats in 2019.

Read on for our UFC 244 play-by-play updates and results for Derrick Lewis vs. Blagoy Ivanov.

Round one

They touch gloves and we’re on. Typically slow, plodding start from Lewis as he starts walking Ivanov back. Lewis with a left kick to the body but Ivanov catches it. Ivanov drags Lewis to the ground and now stands over him. Passes the legs and dives into side control. Ivanov locks up the arm of Lewis and goes for the Americana submission. Lewis explodes up and then stands with Ivanov.

Lewis unloads a seriously powerful combination of punches but Ivanov evades. Lewis now has Ivanov’s back to the cage. Ivanov dives for a guillotine but Lewis stands again. Ivanov connects with a knee to the body. Lewis just leaning on Ivanov, while Ivanov tries to separate. Lewis lands an elbow from the clinch. Ivanov attempts a hip toss but Lewis stays heavy and keeps his feet. Lewis cracks Ivanov with some heavy punches at close range.

Now they’re back to the center of the cage after an extended period of clinching. Body shot from Ivanov. Lewis patient and seemingly waiting for his moment to explode with some big strikes again. Horn sounds and that’s the end of round one.

Ivanov had a couple of submission attempts but Lewis landed enough hard shots to make a greater impact during that round.

The Body Lock scores round one for Derrick Lewis (10-9).

Round two

Another slow, patient start from Lewis. A leg kick lands for him. He pushes Ivanov back to the cage. Lewis misses with an uppercut. The two are standing in the middle of the cage again just staring at each other – not much happening.

Lewis comes forward with some big strikes. Unloads a heavy right hand. Ivanov takes it and fires back. Lewis stumbles but returns fire. Ivanov took several powerful shots really well and now ends up on top in side control again after they fall. Ivanov working on another American submission from side control and Lewis survives. he stands up and rushes at Ivanov. He’s now throwing several heavy strikes again. Ivanov eating them all. Ivanov’s wearing a cut above his right eye.

The fight slows down when they tie up in the clinch again. Lewis lands a big knee but Ivanov is still standing. Lewis goes after him again with a combination of punches but can’t put him down. Now it’s Ivanov pressing Lewis back to the cage and he lands a solid punch to the head. Ivanov trips Lewis and takes him down. He’s now holding a guillotine attempt at the end of the round but runs out of time.

Lewis landing huge punches and that’s definitely making the greater impact in this fight. Ivanov having some great moments, though, with several more submission attempts in this round. Close fight.

The Body Lock scores round two for Derrick Lewis (10-9).

Round three

Lewis circling while Ivanov walking forward. Nothing happening through the first minute of this round. Lewis attempts a right hand but Ivanov dips and evades. Ivanov uses a combination of punches to move forward and close the distance. He has Lewis tied up against the cage again. Another trip attempt from Ivanov but Lewis defends. Classic heavyweight work against the age right now with the guys just leaning on each other. Another trip is defended by Lewis.

Lewis hasn’t done much in this round, but Ivanov hasn’t done a lot either. He eats a couple of hard shots from Ivanov and then attempts to crack him with a counter strike but misses. Hard knee from Lewis as they tie up again. Lewis shoots and Ivanov sprawls, defends, and puts his weight on Lewis. Lewis explodes up to his feet. They’re now tied against the cage, again. Hard uppercuts in the clinch from Lewis. Lewis storms forward with a combination of punches and a heavy uppercut lands near the end for him. That’s the horn and the end of round three. A close, competitive fight from start to finish with great moments for both fighters.

Lewis may have stolen the round in the final seconds, but we’re going to favor Ivanov to win this round considering his more consistent work throughout.

The Body Lock scores round three for Blagoy Ivanov (10-9), with our scorecard showing Derrick Lewis as the winner (29-28) at the end of three rounds.

Official result: Derrick Lewis def. Blagoy Ivanov via split decision (30-27, 28-29, 29-28)

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