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          Curtis Blaydes-Derrick Lewis to top UFC Fight Night card in November

          • Brett OkamotoAug 18, 2020, 11:36 PM
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              Brett Okamoto has reported on mixed martial arts and boxing at ESPN since 2010. He has covered all of the biggest events in combat sports during that time, including in-depth interviews and features with names such as Dana White, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Conor McGregor, Nate Diaz, Floyd Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao and Georges St-Pierre. He was also a producer on the 30 for 30 film: "Chuck and Tito," which looked back at the careers and rivalry of Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz. He lives in Las Vegas, and is an avid, below-average golfer in his spare time.
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          A heavyweight bout between ranked contenders Curtis Blaydes and Derrick Lewis will headline a UFC Fight Night in November.

          Both sides have agreed to the heavyweight matchup, which will take place on Nov. 28 at a location to be determined. It's a fight Blaydes publicly asked for last week, immediately after Lewis picked up a win against Alexey Oleinik on a UFC Fight Night card in Las Vegas.

          "I'm happy and excited about it," Blaydes told ESPN. "This is the one I asked for, and I'm happy the UFC listened and made it a main event. I know Derrick Lewis is a name, he has a large following and a win over him will solidify my case as the next one to go after the heavyweight title. I know [Francis] Ngannou is up next, and I want to build my case for after him."

          Blaydes (14-2) has a pretty strong case already. The Denver-based heavyweight is 9-2 in the UFC, and his only two losses have come against Ngannou.

          Lewis (24-7) is on a three-fight win streak. The Houston native came up short in a heavyweight title bid against then-champion Daniel Cormier in late 2018, and then suffered a loss to Junior dos Santos four months later. Lewis has since stated he is much healthier over this latest run, however, and is poised to make another run at a title.

          Current champion Stipe Miocic just defended his belt against Cormier last weekend. UFC president Dana White has indicated Ngannou will be next for Miocic