UFC Fight Night: Mitrione vs. Lewis

Matt Mitrione (7-3) vs. Derrick Lewis (11-2)

Two knockout artists fight look to get a victory on Friday night as Matt Mitrione and Derrick Lewis battle at UFC Fight Night in Connecticut.

Matt Mitrione will look to get another victory after getting back on the winning path after defeating Shawn Jordan on March 1. Mitrione showed his impressive knockout power in that fight, knocking Jordan out with one second remaining in the first round. He always has the ability to end a match with one punch, but he also can leave himself vulnerable to being defeated early as well. Derrick Lewis comes into this match on a seven-fight winning streak. In his last fight on July 6 against Carlos Augusto Filho, he was in top form, winning by knockout in only 3:30. At 29 years old, Lewis is in the middle of his UFC prime, and a win in this match could help him move up the heavyweight class. Mitrione is a talented fighter, but LEWIS right now is too good for him, and will win in convincing fashion.

"The Black Beast" Lewis enters this fight with 11 wins in his career, with 10 of them coming by way of knockout. His other victory came by way of submission. Even though he is a knockout artist, he will have a huge grappling advantage in this fight (3.81 for Lewis, 0 for Mitrione). Lewis does a great job of using his grappling to wear his opponents down, and that allows him to use his big strikes. However, he also can end the match fast, as six of his 10 knockout victories have been in the first round. While he lands a little less of his strike attempts (3.55) compared to Mitrione (3.73), Lewis is much more accurate (65%) when throwing punches than his opponent (50% for Mitrione). If Lewis is able to come out and set the pace early in the fight, he will be in great position to get the win.

Like Lewis, Mitrione is looking to win this fight by knockout. He has seven wins in his career, with six of them coming by way of KO. Going up against a striker like Lewis, you have to be able to absorb punches, while also defending against them. Mitrione defends 66 percent of his opponents' strikes, something that Lewis is able to do only 21 percent of the time. For the 36-year-old from Indianapolis, there may not be many fights left in his career. Look for him to use that to his advantage and for him to come out early and try to end the fight fast.