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Two top UFC heavyweights will square off inside the octagon as UFC returns to action on February 20, 2021.
No. 2-ranked heavyweight Curtis Blaydes will face No. 4-ranked Derrick Lewis in a heavyweight headliner at UFC Vegas 19 on Saturday night. The two were originally scheduled to square off at UFC Vegas 15 back in November. But a positive COVID test forced Blaydes to pull out of the bout, subsequently cancelling the main event of the card.
Curtis Blaydes will be entering the octagon with a four-fight winning streak to his name. His last victory came with a unanimous decision win over No. 5-ranked Alexander Volkov. Curtis 'Razor' Blaydes has only two losses in his career, and both came against Francis 'The Predator' Ngannou - first in 2016 and then in 2018.
Derrick Lewis, coming off three consecutive wins, is on a good run of his own. Nicknamed 'The Black Beast', Lewis could find himself another shot at the UFC heavyweight title if he goes through Curtis Blaydes on Saturday night, after losing by second-round submission to then-champ Daniel Cormier at UFC 230 in 2018.
The winner of this bout should ideally have found himself in line for the title shot after heavyweight champ Stipe Miocic and Francis Ngannou fight it out at UFC 260. However, the potential presence of Jon Jones in the division changes things up a little bit. It is possible that the former light heavyweight champion might get his shot next at the gold against whoever is the champion post-UFC 260.
UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs Lewis will be co-featured by a women's bantamweight fight between Ketlen Vieira and former Invicta FC champ, Yana Kunitskaya.
When does UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs Lewis start?
UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs Lewis, also dubbed UFC Vegas 19 and UFC Fight Night 185, will take place on February 20, 2021 at UFC Apex arena in Las Vegas, United States.
The prelims of the event will start from 5 pm ET/ 2 pm PT, while the main card will commence from 8 pm ET/5 pm PT. Both the prelims and the main card can be streamed on ESPN+.
In the UK, the preliminary card begins at 10 pm GMT and the main card at 1 am on Sunday, live on BT Sport 1.
In India, the prelims cannot be officially streamed. The main card will air live on Sony Ten 2 (English), Sony Ten 3 (Hindi) and Sony LIV app live from 6:30 am.
