UFC to close 2021 with heavyweight knockout artists headliner on December 18

In
the
main
event,
No.
3
ranked
Derrick
Lewis
takes
on
No.
7
Chris
Daukaus.
In
the
co-main
event,
top
welterweights
look
to
make
a
statement
as
No.
5
ranked
Stephen
Thompson
faces
No.
10
Belal
Muhammad.

Heavyweight
standout
Lewis
(25-8,
1
NC,
fighting
out
of
Houston,
Texas)
looks
to
take
sole
ownership
of
the
record
for
most
knockouts
in
UFC
history
with
another
vintage
performance.

Already
the
owner
of
the
most
knockouts
in
the
heavyweight
division
with
12,
Lewis
earned
his
spot
in
the
record
books
by
landing
stunning
finishes
over
Curtis
Blaydes,
Alexander
Volkov
and
Travis
Browne.
He
now
prepares
to
defend
his
spot
in
the
Top
5
by
handing
Daukaus
his
first
loss
in
the
Octagon.

Daukaus
(12-3,
fighting
out
of
Philadelphia,
Penn.)
intends
to
end
the
year
on
a
high
note
by
notching
the
biggest
victory
of
his
mixed
martial
arts
career.

Currently
undefeated
in
the
UFC
with
four
knockouts
to
his
name,
Daukaus
quickly
rose
up
the
heavyweight
rankings
with
standout
performances
against
Shamil
Abdurakhimov,
Aleksei
Oleinik
and
Rodrigo
Nascimento.
He
now
seeks
to
collect
his
fourth
Performance
of
the
Night
bonus
in
a
row
by
shocking
the
world
and
taking
out
Lewis.

Fan
favorite
Thompson
(16-5,
fighting
out
of
Simpsonville,
S.C.)
has
his
sights
set
on
returning
to
the
title
conversation
with
another
show-stealing
effort.

A
former
undefeated
kickboxing
world
champion,
Thompson
established
himself
as
one
of
the
best
strikers
in
the
promotion
with
iconic
victories
over
Dan
Stittgen,
Robert
Whittaker
and
Johny
Hendricks.
He
now
plans
to
keep
his
spot
in
the
Top
5
and
begin
building
his
momentum
for
2022.

Muhammad
(19-3,
fighting
out
of
Chicago,
Ill.)
aims
to
continue
his
unbeaten
streak
and
prove
that
he
can
compete
with
the
elite
of
the
division.

A
dominant
grappler
with
relentless
cardio,
Muhammad
has
secured
notable
wins
over
Demian
Maia,
Dhiego
Lima
and
Tim
Means.
He
now
looks
to
notch
his
third
victory
of
2021
with
a
statement
performance.

Additional
bouts
on
the
UFC
Vegas
45
card
include:

•
A
thrilling
women’s
strawweight
bout
sees
No.
11
ranked
contender
Amanda
Lemos
(10-1-1,
fighting
out
of
Para,
Brazil)
match
up
with
No.
12
ranked
Angela
Hill
(13-10,
fighting
out
of
San
Diego,
Calif.).

•
No.
12
ranked
featherweight
contender
Raphael
Assuncao
(27-8,
fighting
out
of
Alpharetta,
Ga.
by
way
of
Recife,
Brazil)
intends
to
defend
his
spot
in
the
rankings
against
Ricky
Simon
(18-3,
fighting
out
of
Vancouver,
Wash.).

•
Lightweight
grapplers
collide
as
No.
12
ranked
contender
Diego
Ferreira
(17-4,
fighting
out
of
Pharr,
TX
by
way
of
Careiro
da
Várzea,
Amazonas,
Brazil)
takes
on
Mateusz
Gamrot
(19-1,
1
NC,
fighting
out
of
Luboń,
Wielkopolskie,
Poland).

•
Featherweight
veterans
collide
as
Cub
Swanson
(27-12,
fighting
out
of
Palm
Springs,
Calif.)
and
Darren
Elkins
(27-9,
fighting
out
of
Portage,
Ind.)
open
up
the
main
card.

•
Gerald
Meerschaert
(33-14,
fighting
out
of
Milwaukee,
Wisc.)
intends
to
collect
another
signature
submission
against
fellow
grappler
Dustin
Stoltzfus
(13-3,
fighting
out
of
Germersheim,
Rheinland-Pfalz,
Germany).

•
Heavyweight
finishers
Justin
Tafa
(4-3,
fighting
out
of
Brisbane,
Australia)
and
Harry
Hunsucker
(7-4,
fighting
out
of
Richmond,
Ky.)
vie
to
end
the
year
on
a
winning
note.

•
Women’s
flyweight
veteran
Sijara
Eubanks
(8-6,
fighting
out
of
Toms
River,
N.J.)
looks
to
hand
Melissa
Gatto
(7-0-2,
fighting
out
of
State
of
Parana,
Brazil)
her
first
loss.

•
Charles
Jourdain
(11-4-1,
fighting
out
of
Beloeil,
Quebec,
Canada)
and
Andre
Ewell
(17-8,
fighting
out
of
Riverside,
Calif.)
lock
horns
in
a
battle
of
exciting
featherweights.

•
Raquel
Pennington
(12-9,
fighting
out
of
Colorado
Springs,
Colo.)
plans
to
extend
her
win
streak
when
she
takes
on
Macy
Chiasson
(8-1,
fighting
out
of
Dallas,
Texas)
in
a
featherweight
bout.

•
Heavyweights
Don’Tale
Mayes
(9-4,
fighting
out
of
Louisville,
Ky.)
and
Josh
Parisian
(14-4,
fighting
out
of
Howell,
Mich.)
square
off
with
fireworks
expected.

•
Jordan
Leavitt
(8-1,
fighting
out
of
Las
Vegas,
Nev.)
welcomes
Matt
Sayles
(8-3,
fighting
out
of
Lakeside,
Calif.)
back
to
the
Octagon
in
a
lightweight
bout.

UFC
Vegas
45:
Lewis
vs
Daukaus
will
take
place
Saturday,
December
18
from
APEX
in
Las
Vegas.
All
bouts
will
stream
on
ESPN+,
with
the
prelims
beginning
at
4
p.m.
ET/
1
p.m.
PT
and
the
main
card
at
7
p.m.
ET/
4
p.m.
PT.

Source:
Press
Release