LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – AUGUST 07: (L-R) Opponents Derrick Lewis and Aleksei Oleinik of Russia face off … [+]
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The UFC returns to the Apex on the UFC campus in Las Vegas for tonight’s UFC on ESPN+ 32 fight card. The main event pits two top-10 ranked heavyweights against each other.
Derrick Lewis and Aleksei Oleinik meet at the top of the UFC on ESPN+ 32 fight card. Lewis, who fought for the UFC heavyweight title in November 2018 — Daniel Cormier submitted him in that contest — is the No. 4 ranked fighter in the official UFC heavyweight rankings. Oleinik, who has been fighting professionally since 1996 and has racked up 73 career MMA bouts, is the No. 10 ranked UFC heavyweight.
Lewis feels fans will see the old version of his fighting style tonight.
“I’ve been trigger shy,” Lewis said at UFC Vegas 6 media day. “I was a new creature. A different type of body coming into the octagon, feeling different, lighter, feeling faster and just wanted to test it out.”
“Now that I’ve tested it out going all three rounds in my last two fights, I feel like I’m more comfortable and I can really let loose in the first round and not gas out. That’s what I plan on doing Saturday.”
Lewis is on a two-fight winning streak. He has decision wins over Blagoy Ivanov and Ilir Latifi in his two most recent outings. Lewis has not scored a knockout win since he stopped Alexander Volkov with 11 seconds left in their UFC 229 meeting in October 2018.
Like Lewis. Oleinik has won his past two fights. Oleinik scored a submission win over Maurice Greene in January of this year. In May, he defeated former UFC heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum by split decision.
How to Watch or Live Stream UFC on ESPN+ 32:
UFC on ESPN+31 tales place tonight at UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The main card streams on ESPN+ following prelims on ESPN+ and ESPN
Main Card (ESPN+)
Derrick Lewis vs. Aleksei Oleinik
Chris Weidman vs. Omari Akhmedov
Darren Stewart vs. Maki Pitolo
Yana Kunitskaya vs. Julija Stoliarenko
Beneil Dariush vs. Scott Holtzman
Preliminary card (ESPN/ESPN+)
Tim Means vs. Laureano Staropoli
Kevin Holland vs. Joaquin Buckley
Nasrat Haqparast vs. Alexander Muñoz
Andrew Sanchez vs. Wellington Turman
Gavin Tucker vs. Justin Jaynes
Youssef Zalal vs. Peter Barrett
Irwin Rivera vs. Ali Al Qaisi
