“Hits like a Cadillac” – Bob Perez compares Francis Ngannou and Derrick Lewis knockout power

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4 years ago

Derrick Lewis yells on the scale during the UFC 247 ceremonial weigh-in at Toyota Center on February 07, 2020 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

Derrick Lewis is known to have one of the scariest knockout powers in the UFC

Derrick Lewis is set to face heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou in a rematch sometime this year. Though, Lewis beat Ngannou via. unanimous decision at UFC 226, their careers took different trajectories.

Lewis challenged for the heavyweight title that same year after beating Ngannou, but lost the championship match against Daniel Cormier and the following bout with Junior dos Santos as well.

Daniel Cormier of the United States (R) talks with Derrick Lewis of the United States after defeating him. (Photo by Steven Ryan/Getty Images)

Lewis then slowly made his way up, winning 4 in a row, and is currently ranked number 2 in the heavyweight rankings.

As for Ngannou, ‘The Predator’ quickly turned the tide in his favour after his loss against Lewis. He demolished all of his next four opponents in the very first round, to set up a title clash against Stipe Miocic at UFC 260.

In the title clash, he destroyed Miocic as well, to clinch the heavyweight championship. And now, he stares at a rematch with ‘the Black Beast’.

Lewis’ coach Bob Perez in an interview with Helen Yee, compared Lewis’ knockout power with that of Ngannou’s. It is a well-known fact that Ngannou hits like a Ford Escort. And hence, Perez stated that Lewis’ power was a notch above and that he hits like a ‘Fleetwood’ Cadillac.

Perez was quoted as saying:

“I’ve felt Derrick and I know what he has. If he [Ngannou] is a Ford Escort, what is a step up, I’ll give that to Derrick. Whatever the next step up is…Derrick’s a Cadillac. He hits like a Cadillac. Like you’re getting hit by a Fleetwood Cadillac.”

Bob Perez takes nothing away from Francis Ngannou

While Perez did speak about Lewis’ power being as scary or in fact a notch above Ngannou’s he took nothing away from the Cameroonian.

He acknowledged him for his scary abilities and for the way that he is built.

Francis Ngannou defeated Stipe Miocic at UFC 260 (UFC Twitter)

In the same interview with Helen Yee, Perez claimed that he had a lot of respect for the heavyweight champion’s ability and power, and for the way that he is built.

Perez told Yee:

“I have a ton of respect for his ability and his power…Look how the man’s built. He’s definitely an imposing figure and I think that kind of adds to the mystique or whatever”