With new four-fight deal, Lewis eyeing big result at MFC 27 against Al-Hassan
Knowing he was down to the last fight on his contract, Dwayne Lewis figured he had no other choice than to boldly re-affirm his position in the Maximum Fighting Championship.
Lewis went out and backed up the rare boastful statements he made in the lead-up to MFC 26, demolishing Mike Nickels in less than two minutes. Lewis staked his claim for a new deal and MFC Owner/President Mark Pavelich made his feelings known at the post-fight press conference, vowing that Lewis would soon receive a new multi-fight contract.
And now, with a fresh four-fight deal in hand, Lewis (12-5) will truly step to the forefront at MFC 27: Breaking Point when he squares off against Razak Al-Hassan (10-2) in one of the featured bouts on the HDNet Fights televised main card. Lewis barely had to break a sweat in his last outing as he worked over Nickels with well-placed punches that dropped the former MFC Fight of the Year winner several times en route to a succinct stoppage. The win was Lewis’s eighth knockout of his career and catapulted him into the high-profile clash with Al-Hassan.
“I have to admit that I love where I am right now,” said Lewis of his lengthy journey to a prominent spot on an MFC lineup. “It took me a while to get serious about my training and really set goals for myself. Now I think I’m doing pretty well.
“I’ll never be the most technical fighter but if the people can say I’m at least exciting to watch then I’m happy.”
Recently, Al-Hassan offered the same sort of sentiment – excitement and entertainment for the fans is top priority – so it’s a perfect match that these two bulls butt heads on Friday, November 12 at the River Cree Resort and Casino, just outside Edmonton, Alberta. Their clash is a sure-fire recipe for fireworks, and likely a top contender for the MFC light heavyweight title.
“Razak is going to be a tough fight,” offered Lewis, who has won eight of his last nine – the only interruption to the winning streak being his disappointing decision loss to Emanuel Newton at MFC 25.
“He’s big and strong and well-conditioned. He comes from a strong camp and has a good record with seven of his 10 wins coming by submission in the first round. But that being said I present quite a few dangers myself. It’s going to be a great fight. He’s never been knocked out and I’ve never been submitted.
“I don’t take any offense when he says he’s excited to fight me. I know he’s not going to take me lightly – that wouldn’t be very smart – and I’m not taking him lightly either.”
Lewis may be treading lightly now but come first bell, it’s a good bet to expect an explosion of raw power.
“I really don’t know if I can take him out in the same fashion that I did with Nickels but I will say this … my fight style isn’t a secret. I always look for the early KO.”
Tickets for MFC 27: Breaking Point are on sale now through the MFC Ticket Hotline at (780) 504-2024 and via Ticketmaster at MailScanner has detected a possible fraud attempt from “blocked::http:” claiming to be www.ticketmaster.ca and charge-by-phone (780) 451-8000.