Dana White has informed ESPN that the co-main event for UFC 229 is on the verge of being finalized and will be between ranked heavyweight contenders Derrick Lewis and Alexander Volkov. UFC 229 takes place October 6th in Las Vegas, Nevada and will be headlined by Khabib Nurmagomedov defending his lightweight championship against Conor McGregor.
Two weeks ago, Volkov had the idea to fight Derrick Lewis in Volkov’s home country of Russia, as he took to Twitter to call out Lewis:
It seems like the only way for me to get a fight in #UFCMoscow is to call here to fight @Thebeast_ufc. Derrick, what do you say?
— Alexander Volkov (@AlexDragoVolkov) July 25, 2018
Derrick Lewis’s response to this invitation would go viral:
Black man in Moscow?!?! Fuck that. come to the USA
— Derrick Lewis (@Thebeast_ufc) July 25, 2018
Volkov would issue one final attempt to try to lure the Beast into his home:
Dont be a racist. Russia is an international country!
— Alexander Volkov (@AlexDragoVolkov) July 25, 2018
This final plea would go unheard, as Lewis dropped the mic on his initial reply and possibly went back to sleep. Volkov would have no choice but to gather his passport and concede to meet Lewis on his term and on his turf, as the two will have the eyes of the world on them immediately before the Nurmagomedov/McGregor megafight.
Derrick Lewis has impressively won eight of his last nine fights, including over names like Travis Browne, Roy Nelson, and a somewhat controversial victory over Francis Ngannou, where many believed the bout generated only losers: both from the fighter side and all angles of the audience. Derrick Lewis was also critical of his last performance but will have an opportunity to get back to his crowd-pleasing ways, as only two of Lewis’s 11 UFC victories have gone to a decision.
Alexander Volkov is the much more experienced fighter with 36 pro fights under his belt and a record of 30-6. Volkov is undefeated in the UFC at 4-0 and also holds a victory over Roy Nelson. Following that win, Volkov went on to get a TKO over Stefan Struve and a KO over former heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum, putting him on the short list of potential heavyweight title challengers.
What do you think of this reported co-main event for UFC 229?
