The UFC has a new heavyweight contender on the rise. Serghei Spivac (16-3 MMA, 7-3 UFC) made easy work of two-time title challenger Derrick Lewis (26-11 MMA, 17-9 UFC) with a first-round submission at UFC Fight Night 218 in Las Vegas. After the fight, the Ukrainian fighter declared his desire to challenge the winner of the upcoming vacant heavyweight title fight between Jon Jones and Ciryl Gane and said he hopes it’s Jones.

The fight started with the two big men quickly tying up. Spivac landed a hip toss and put Lewis on his back. Spivac then went to work from side control and looked initially for a potential arm-triangle choke. Lewis gave his back and Spivac got heavy on top with punches. With about two minutes left, Spivac put Lewis on his back and decided to chase the arm-triangle choke. He got it with ease, and Lewis tapped quickly.

The fight was part of a night of intense action at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Other results included Devin Clark vs. Da-un Jung via unanimous decision, Marcin Tybura def. Blagoy Ivanov via unanimous decision, Dooho Choi vs. Kyle Nelson declared majority draw, Adam Fugitt def. Yusaku Kinoshita via TKO (strikes), Anshul Jubli def. Jeka Saragih via TKO (strikes) to win “Road to UFC” lightweight tournament, Jeong Yeong Lee vs. Yi Zha via split decision to win “Road to UFC” featherweight tournament, Rinya Nakamura def. Toshiomi Kazama via knockout (punch) to win “Road to UFC” bantaweight tournament, Sung Hyun Park def. Seung Guk Choi via submission (rear-naked choke) to win “Road to UFC” flyweight tournament, Junyong Park def. Denis Tiuliulin technical submission (rear-naked choke), and Tatsuro Taira def. Jesus Santos Aguilar via verbal submission (armbar).

The night was capped off by an impressive performance by Serghei Spivac who submitted Derrick Lewis in the first round. After the fight, Spivac declared his intention to challenge the winner of the upcoming vacant heavyweight title fight between Jon Jones and Ciryl Gane and said he hopes it’s Jones. With three straight stoppage wins in less than a year, the UFC might have a new heavyweight contender on its hands.

Source: mmajunkie.usatoday.com