Gabriel Gonzaga Now Expected To Fight Derrick Lewis At UFC Fight Night 86

Gabriel Gonzaga looks to have a new opponent for UFC Fight Night 86 in Zagreb, Croatia on April 10th after Ruslan Magomedov pulled out following a knee injury that left him barely able to walk.

While it’s not been officially confirmed as yet, it’s believed that Derrick ‘The Black Beast’ Lewis will now step in to replace him on a month’s notice to keep the co-main event intact for the UFC’s first ever visit to Croatia.

The heavy-hitting Lewis is on a two-fight winning streak in the UFC at the moment with both Viktor Peska and Damain Grabowski having being defeated by TKO in the past six months, taking his total UFC record to date to 5-2.

In Gonzaga he faces a true veteran of the sport who’s been competing for 12 years now. ‘Napao’ ended a three-fight losing streak when he claimed a unanimous decision win over Konstantin Erokhin back in December, but it was a truly woeful display from both men – easily one of the worst fights of the past year – and so he’s still got a lot to prove in this upcoming match-up with Lewis.

UFC Fight Night 86 will be headlined by a major heavyweight match-up between Stipe Miocic (who’s parents are both from Croatia) and former heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos.

Ross launched MMA Insight (previously FightOfTheNight.com) in 2009 as a way to channel his passion for the sport of mixed martial arts. He's since penned countless news stories and live fight reports along with dozens of feature articles as the lead writer for the site, reaching millions of fans in the process.