HARD-HITTING HEAVYWEIGHT CONTENDERS
(#7) DERRICK LEWIS AND (#12) SERGHEI SPIVAC HEADLINE AT UFC® APEX
FEATURED BOUT:
KENNEDY NZECHUKWU vs ION CUTELABA
UFC® returns to UFC APEX with an adrenaline-filled bout that will see No. 7 ranked heavyweight Derrick Lewis and No. 12 Serghei Spivac collide in a thrilling main event. Exciting light heavyweights Kennedy Nzechukwu and Ion Cutelaba lock horns in the co-main event.
UFC FIGHT NIGHT®: LEWIS vs. SPIVAC will take place Saturday, November 19 at UFC APEX in Las Vegas. The entire card will be available on ESPN+ in English and Spanish, with the main card starting at 4 p.m. ET / 1 p.m. PT and the prelims at 1 p.m. ET / 10 a.m. PT.
Fan favorite Lewis (26-10 1 NC, fighting out of Houston, Texas) returns to the Octagon looking to add to his record as the UFC’s all-time knockout king. The Texas contender’s heavy hands have earned him highlight reel finishes over Chris Daukaus, Curtis Blaydes, and Aleksei Oleinik. Lewis now sets out to stop Spivac in impressive fashion and find his way back to title contention.
Spivac (15-3, fighting out of Chisinau, Moldova) looks to crack the heavyweight Top 5 for the first time in his career. A well-rounded finisher, the “Polar Bear” holds victories over Tai Tuivasa, Greg Hardy and Augusto Sakai. Spivac aims to make the most of his first UFC main event spot by delivering a statement win against a household name in Lewis.
Dana White’s Contender Series signee Nzechukwu (10-3, fighting out of Dallas, Texas) plans to steps up to the challenge of his first UFC co-main event. The powerful 205-pounder has delivered knockout finishes in each of his last three wins, against Karl Roberson, Danilo Marques, and Carlos Ulberg. The Nigeria native is determined to stop Cutelaba in emphatic fashion and secure the biggest win of his career.
Cutelaba (16-8-1 1NC, fighting out of Chisinau, Moldova) looks to recapture his momentum by breaking into the light heavyweight rankings. The Moldovan’s exciting fight style has led him to wins against Devin Clark, Khalil Rountree Jr., and Gadzhimurad Antigulov. Cutelaba intends to bring a firefight to Nzechukwu and deliver a show-stealing finish.
Additional bouts on the card include:
- Exciting middleweights Cody Brundage (8-2, fighting out of Englewood, Colo.) and Rodolfo Vieira (8-2, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) collide
- In the heavyweight division Chase Sherman (16-10, fighting out of D’Iberville, Miss.) takes on undefeated Waldo Cortes-Acosta (8-0, fighting out of Phoenix, Ariz. by way of Fundación, Barahona, Dominican Republic)
- Andre Fiahlo (16-5, fighting out of Cascais, Portugal) meets Muslim Salikhov (18-3, fighting out of Buynaksk, Russia) in an intriguing welterweight matchup
- Dana White’s Contender Series alumnus Jack Della Maddalena (12-2, fighting out of Perth Australia) squares off with Danny Roberts (18-6, fighting out of Liverpool, England)
- At flyweight, Charles Johnson (11-3, fighting out of St. Louis, Mo.) looks to secure his first UFC win against Zhalgas Zhumagulov (14-7, fighting out of Aktobe, Kazakhstan)
- Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Jennifer Maia (19-9-1, fighting out of Curitiba, Parana, Brazil) aims to halt the streaking Maryna Moroz (11-3, fighting out of Volnogorsk, Ukraine) at flyweight
- An exciting matchup in the bantamweight division pits Vince Morales (11-6, fighting out of Las Vegas, Nev.) against Miles Johns (12-2, fighting out of Dallas, Texas)
- At bantamweight, The Ultimate Fighter Season 30 winner Ricky Turcios (12-3, fighting out of Houston, Tex.) takes on Kevin Natividad (9-3, fighting out Tempe, Ari.)
- Vanessa Demopoulos (8-4, fighting out of Phoenix, Ariz.) clashes with Maria Oliveira (13-5, fighting out of São João de Meriti, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) in a strawweight bout
- Bantamweight prospect Brady Heistand (6-2, fighting out of Spokane Valley, Wash.) looks to bounce back in the win column with a win against Fernie Garcia (10-2, fighting out of Dallas, Texas)
- Kicking off the event at flyweight, Natalia Silva (13-5-1, fighting out of Ipatinga, Minas Gerais, Brazil) welcomes undefeated newcomer Tereza Bleda (6-0, fighting out of Prague, Czech Republic)
Visit the UFC.com for information and content to support your UFC coverage. Please click here to apply for the event.
###
About UFC®
UFC® is the world’s premier mixed martial arts organization (MMA), with more than 688 million fans and 207 million social media followers. The organization produces more than 40 live events annually in some of the most prestigious arenas around the world, while broadcasting to nearly 900 million TV households across more than 170 countries. UFC’s athlete roster features the world’s best MMA athletes representing more than 75 countries. The organization’s digital offerings include UFC FIGHT PASS®, one of the world’s leading streaming services for combat sports. UFC is owned by global entertainment, sports and content company Endeavor, and is headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada. For more information, visit UFC.com and follow UFC at Facebook.com/UFC, Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram and TikTok: @UFC.
About ESPN+
ESPN+ is the industry-leading sports streaming service that offers fans in the U.S. thousands of live sports events, original programming not available on ESPN’s linear TV or digital networks and exclusive editorial content from dozens of ESPN writers and reporters. Launched in April 2018, ESPN+ has grown to more than 24.3 million subscribers. Fans sign up to ESPN+ for just $9.99 a month (or $99.99 per year) at ESPN.com, ESPNplus.com or on the ESPN App (mobile and connected devices).
About ESPN
ESPN, the world’s leading sports entertainment brand, features eight U.S. television networks, direct-to-consumer ESPN+, ESPN Radio, ESPN.com, endeavors on every continent around the world, and more. ESPN is 80 percent owned by ABC, Inc. (an indirect subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company) and 20 percent by Hearst.
