NEW YORK (AP) — Daniel Cormier is set to make his first defense of the heavyweight championship Saturday night when he fights Derrick Lewis at UFC 230.
Cormier (21-1, 1 no-contest) fights for the first time since he flattened Stipe Miocic in July. Cormier, who also holds the light heavyweight championship, had been posturing for a fight against Brock Lesnar. But with Lesnar still signed to WWE and no firm word on a return to UFC, Cormier accepted the chance to fight Lewis at Madison Square Garden.
Lewis (21-5) has punishing knockout power but not much else as he fights for the title for the first time. He'll fight just one month after a knockout win at UFC 229 where he absorbed 78 significant strikes to the head but still won.
Chris Weidman takes on Jacare Souza in a middleweight bout in one of five bouts on UFC's first card this year at MSG.
___
More AP sports: https://apnews.com/apf-sports and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
