UFC Vegas 45 Odds: Heavyweights Highlight Saturday Night MMA Card

Two top-ten UFC heavyweights will be going toe-to-toe in the main event of this weekend’s UFC Vegas 45 card on ESPN+.

Knockout artist and UFC veteran Derrick Lewis will take on rising prospect Chris Daukaus in the card’s headliner.

How to watch UFC Vegas 45

When: Saturday — 3 p.m. prelims and 6 p.m. main card
Where: UFC Apex, Las Vegas
TV: ESPN+

Lewis vs. Daukaus in UFC Vegas 45

Fans who bet on the UFC Vegas 45 main event will decide between fighters who have a combined 9-1 record in their last 10 bouts.

Lewis (25-8 MMA, 16-6 UFC), ranked third in the heavyweight division, is currently tied for the most knockouts in UFC history at 12 alongside Vitor Belfort and Matt Brown.

The “Black Beast” from Houston is looking for a win to get back into title contention after losing his last fight against Ciryl Gane in an interim-heavyweight championship bout back in August.

Daukaus (12-3 MMA, 4-0 UFC) is 4-0 since arriving to the UFC in August 2020 and has finished all four of his UFC fights by knockout.

The Philadelphia police officer made waves in his UFC debut by taking the fight on nine days notice and defeating Parker Porter by TKO in the first round.

The matchup will most likely be a battle on the feet as both fighters tend to prefer using their boxing over the ground game.

Lewis has improved his work in the clinch over his last few fights and isn’t afraid to throw high kicks and immediately close the distance after.

Daukaus, on the other hand, has shown he can control the distance and looks for counter striking in his four, short UFC fights.

Both fighters will be looking for the big knockout, no doubt about it. Daukaus hasn’t gone the distance since fighting in Cage Fury in 2016 and Lewis is one knockout away from being the UFC’s sole knockout king.

UFC Vegas 45 main event: Tale of the tape

Derrick Lewis

Age: 36
Height: 6’3″
Weight: 265 lbs
Reach: 79 inches
Last five fights:
- Ciryl Gane —TKO (L)
- Curtis Blaydes — KO (W)
- Aleksei Oleinik — TKO (W)
- Ilir Latifi — Dec. (W)
- Blagoy Ivanov — Dec. (W)

Chris Daukaus

Age: 32
Height: 6’3″
Weight: 231 lbs
Reach: 76 inches
Last five fights:
- Shamil Abdurakhimov — TKO (W)
- Aleksei Oleinik — TKO (W)
- Rodrigo Nascimento — KO (W)
- Parker Porter — TKO (W)
- (Cage Fury FC) Danny Holmes — TKO (W)

Thompson vs. Muhammad in UFC Vegas 45

The co-main event is shaking out to hold interesting implications for two of the UFC’s top welterweights as well.

Fifth-ranked Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson (16-5 MMA, 11-5 UFC) will face tenth-ranked Belal Muhammad (19-3-1 MMA, 10-3-1 UFC) before the heavyweight main event.

Thompson, a former welterweight title contender, is looking to get back into championship contention after a decision loss in July to Gilbert Burns. The opportunity could come if he wins a couple of fights in a row as current welterweight champ Kamaru Usman has already faced and beat most of the other top contenders.

Thompson is 3-3 since his title fight loss to then-champion Tyron Woodley, who is boxing Jake Paul for a second time this weekend.

Muhammad is currently on a five-fight win streak (minus the no-contest due to an eyepoke from Leon Edwards back in March) and is looking to legitimize himself as a top contender by fighting a top-five ranked opponent in Thompson.

Both fighters haven’t been big finishers in their careers. Muhammad last finished an opponent by submission in 2019 and Thompson hasn’t finished anyone since Johnny Hendricks in 2016.

UFC Vegas 45 co-main event: Tale of the tape

Stephen Thompson

Age: 38
Height: 6’0″
Weight: 170 lbs
Reach: 75 inches
Last five fights:
- Gilbert Burns — Dec. (L)
- Geoff Neal — Dec. (W)
- Vicente Luque — Dec. (W)
- Anthony Pettis — KO (L)
- Darren Till — Dec. (L)

Belah Muhammad

Age: 33
Height: 5’10’’
Weight: 170 lbs
Reach: 72 inches
Last five fights:
- Demian Maia — Dec. (W)
- Leon Edwards — No Contest
- Dhiego Lima — Dec. (W)
- Lyman Good — Dec. (W)
- Takashi Sato — Submission (W)