Marcos Rogerio de Lima secured a fight with Derrick Lewis after calling him out and winning an unanimous decision victory against Waldo Cortes-Acosta.
Prior to his April bout with Waldo Cortes-Acosta, the Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighter Marcos Rogerio de Lima made a daring move by calling out Derrick Lewis, another notable MMA fighter. After securing the opportunity with a unanimous decision victory, it was confirmed that the face-off between Lewis and de Lima would indeed take place. This highly-anticipated showdown is slated to happen on Saturday night at UFC 291 in Salt Lake City.
Interestingly, both fighters come into the match with quite contrasting career trajectories. Pezão, as de Lima is popularly known, has emerged victorious in four of his past five bouts, scoring half of those wins via stoppage. In stark contrast, The Black Beast, another nickname for Lewis, has had his back against the wall, with four losses in his last five fights spread over 23 months. Regardless of their recent records, both fighters are ready for a thrilling duel in the octagon.
Despite his manager’s reservations about the matchup due to a conflict of interest, de Lima had no such issue. As he shared on the Trocação Franca podcast, he felt that the fight with Lewis was the right one for him. He cited his aggressive style of fighting as one of the reasons finding himself well-suited for the match, which could promise much entertainment for UFC followers. The Brazilian heavyweight revealed that he aimed to grab the limelight as much as he could in this encounter.
Confident of his techniques, de Lima stated, “I’m going there to fight MMA. I’m sure I’m faster and more explosive than him, I have better conditioning, and I’ll explore all that at all times.” He viewed himself as stronger in all aspects, surpassing Lewis in terms of wrestling and jiu-jitsu techniques. Besides, he anticipated that the altitude of Salt Lake City would push Lewis to bring his best performance. Still, de Lima remained certain that he would ultimately prove too strong for his rival.