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#3 vs. Travis Browne – UFC Fight Night 105 – 02/19/2017
Lewis’s first UFC main event came in somewhat odd circumstances – he defeated the largely unknown Shamil Abdurakhimov at UFC Fight Night 102 in December 2016 in a fight that felt like a step down for him after wins over Gabriel Gonzaga and Roy Nelson. His next fight would also be the main event, but it was another step up in competition.
Travis Browne had never quite reached the heights his early Octagon performances promised, but the giant Hawaiian – super-athletic, remarkably quick and with finishing skills in all areas – seemed like a very dangerous foe for the Black Beast.
The two men clashed in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and what transpired was a true Heavyweight war. The first round was all Browne, as he kicked away at the body of Lewis, hurting him numerous times and even caused him to double over more than once.
Lewis did drop Browne with a right hand, but ‘Hapa’ recovered and soon got back onto offense. It looked like Lewis was painfully outgunned.
In the second round, however, that brutal punching power again proved to be enough to turn the tide. A violent flurry early in the round put Browne into the danger zone, and despite all his good work early on, he was never able to recover fully.
Late in the round, Lewis finally put him down – and in a criminal referee job, Mario Yamasaki allowed an unconscious Browne to take at least four needless shots before stopping the fight.
It was an epic win for Lewis, but his post-fight mic work made things even more memorable. In a bizarre promo, Lewis claimed he was never hurt by Browne’s body shots – he just needed a sh*t – then went on to claim his cardio had been poor as he’d had too much sex during his training camp!
The whole thing – from the fight to the post-fight rant – summed up Lewis perfectly; a fighter with a lot of holes in his game, but enough power to ensure those holes don’t always matter, and a man with a ton of personality who’s always entertaining – even when he’s probably not attempting to be.
