On this day in 2018, a UFC fight that promised to deliver devastating punches and a brutal knockout … well, not.
UFC 226 took place on July 7, 2018 and is one of the most memorable events of the promotion because of how it ended.
In the main event in the T-Mobile Arena of Las Vegas, the then heavy-weight King Daniel Cormier Stipe Miocic spread to catch the heavyweight gold and to become a simultaneous two-division UFC champion.
Dana White and Co. Would have been happy to see that ending and Cormier's subsequent face-off with Brock Lesnar take the attention of a Co-Main event that remains one of the worst battles in history.
Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
Derrick Lewis vs Francis Ngannou was 'the worst heavyweight fight' Joe Rogan has seen
That fighting description remains astonishing person who competed. The UFC 226 Co-Headliner laid two of the greatest hitters of the promotion against each other in Derrick Lewis and Francis Ngannou.
But when brutal power met brutal power, the result was a snoozestest.
'The Black Beast' and 'The Predator' incredibly combined for only 31 total strikes over three rounds, according to Fightmetric. Despite supplications from John Wood in his corner, Ngannou refused to go and only threw 46 strikes during the game, because he fell on a disappointing unanimous decision, beats months after a one -sided title loss against Miocic.
Among those who had a view of the first row of the action or the lack thereof color commentator Joe Rogan. And while he thinks about the fight during an episode of the Joe Rogan experience, the podcast host made clear what he thought of the game.
“Jesus Christ, it was one for the centuries,” said Rogan. “It was the worst heavyweight battle I have ever seen.
“It was the second lowest output ever. They didn't even come to number one. … (Ngannou) issued a statement today and his statement was essentially that he was wearing fear.”
In his statement after the fight, Ngannou promised his fans to never again disappoint with such an implementation. He then won his next four fights via the first round KO before he took revenge on the Consensus Heavyweight Goat to win the title in 2021.
Dana White wanted to cut Francis Ngannou after Derrick Lewis Dud
It is not surprising that Rogan was not alone with his view of the UFC 226 collision between the two heavyweight colossen.
White was less than satisfied with what he had seen. And although Lewis did not cover himself in glory either, it seemed that the Cameroonian had caught the majority of the anti -aircraft redent.
Years later, after Ngannou had left the promotion as a heavyweight champion after a long contractual dispute, the UFC president claimed that he even wanted to release Ngannou as a result of the UFC 226 performance.
“I started cutting Francis when he lost two in a row,” White told reporters during a press conference in October 2024. “I would cut him. Someone here begged me not to do it.”
Given what 'The Predator' was going to achieve, White was saved from a big mistake by letting those who stopped him.