The co-main event to one of the biggest pay-per-views of the year for UFC ended up being a mild-mannered contest rained down by a sea of boos throughout all three rounds.
Even with as little action as there was in the Derrick Lewis vs. Francis Ngannou fight at UFC 226, Lewis came out the victor with a unanimous decision win (29-28, 29-28, 30-27), though it would be hard to tell if anyone actually won since there was no post-fight interview conducted.
The crowd booed loudly throughout most of the fight, chanted "Fight! Fight! Fight!" and even did a soccer wave to entertain itself. UFC commentator Joe Rogan even called the fight the worst heavyweight fight of all-time on the pay-per-view. Perhaps the lone moment of real action came in early in the first round when Lewis threw a kick to Ngannou's ribs and both exchanged strikes for an extremely brief second, but very little action followed for the remainder of the fight.
Lewis claimed that he had been suffering back problems since before the fight, which limited his mobility, something that was sorely lacking in the fight.
Below is the third round written by David Tees on Fightful's live coverage of UFC 226:
Round Three: The round begins with Ngannou peppering Lewis with a few jabs, Ngannou attempts a high kick and Lewis blocks it. Lewis charges forward and he swings away at Ngannou, Ngannou and Lewis exchange some high kick attempts. Lewis starts attacking Ngannou with some leg kicks, Lewis attacks Ngannou with a kick to the midsection. Ngannou pops a kicking Lewis with a counter left, Lewis eats another left as he nails Ngannou with some knee strikes. Lewis kicks Ngannou in the midsection as the round ends.
Fightful scores the round 10-9 for Lewis (Final Score: 30-27 for Lewis)
Official Result: #5 Derrick Lewis def. #1 Francis Ngannou by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
Regardless of how the fans or even UFC perceived the fight, Lewis did defeat the top-ranked heavyweight. The win hypothetically puts Lewis up there for a potential shot at the UFC heavyweight title, but it's more likely that UFC would keep Lewis away from the title for now so as not to have to remind fans that Lewis was a part of infamy at UFC 226.
Lewis is now on a two-fight win streak for the first time since a six-fight win streak was snapped by Mark Hunt last year, a fight that ended up winning "Fight of the Night" honors, Lewis' second in his UFC career.
Full results and live coverage of UFC 226 can be seen at this link. The Fightful MMA podcast, hosted by Sean Ross Sapp, will go live after UFC 226 to discuss the show as well as The Ultimate Fighter 27 Finale.
