Derrick Lewis Set to Welcome Ilir Latifi to the Heavyweight Division
Breaking: UFC close to finalizing Derrick Lewis (@Thebeast_ufc) vs. Ilir Latifi (@Latifimma) on Feb. 8, per sources. https://t.co/XyWlq3pz2e
— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) November 18, 2019
Ilir Latifi’s heavyweight debut will happen on Feb. 8 opposite Derrick Lewis according to ESPN’s Brett Okamoto.
Lewis returned to the win column last time out as he beat Blagoy Ivanov by split-decision at UFC 244. Before that, he lost by TKO to Junior dos Santos and was submitted by Daniel Cormier at UFC 230 for the heavyweight title. He is currently ranked fifth in the division.
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"I even have plans of fighting at heavyweight, so let’s see," Latifi said. "Both divisions are tough. Light heavyweight is as tough as heavyweight. Both divisions they hit hard; light heavyweight they are faster, higher paced. There are advantages of the heavier guys, so we’ll see.
"I would like to fight anybody in the top-10 — maybe Derrick Lewis. I’m not looking past Volkan, this is a fight to focus on and do it. After that, let’s see, let’s take the decision from there."
The Swedish fighter currently on a two-fight losing streak as before the KO loss, he lost by decision to Corey Anderson.
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