s MAXIMUM FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIP

Big leap for Lewis
Feb 18, 2010 By MFC Staff

Stakes high but target in reach for light heavyweight hopeful

Dwayne Lewis has had moments before in his career when he could have, and arguably, should have seized an opportunity and tapped it out.

But for whatever reason, whether it was inexperience, stage fright or tactical error, Lewis never grabbed a hold of those chances and soared to new heights. There is no turning back this time for Lewis, one of the Maximum Fighting Championship’s most-popular competitors, when he faces the biggest name and most important test of his career.

Lewis (10-4) will be featured in the co-main event of MFC 24: Heat XC on Friday, February 24 in a light heavyweight clash against pugnacious veteran David Heath (14-6). A closer look at Lewis’s ascension to this spotlight moment reveals that opportunities have come his way before but none more critical than this one.

Twice earlier on his MFC career, Lewis should have ascended to bigger things with a clutch win, but he lost of a pair of lackluster decisions to Ray Penny and Chris Camozzi. So dominated was Lewis in the third round of the Camozzi fight that Camozzi had a moment to look a ringside photographer in the eye and offer a smiling, thumbs-up salute. It went from bad to worse for Lewis in his next outing – a 17-second Knockout of the Year loss to Aron Lofton.

But that’s where the bad news stopped for the Fort McMurray, Alberta, product. Whatever and however he did it, Lewis turned a sinking ship into a steamroller. It’s been six straight wins for Lewis since that humbling loss to Lofton, and what has been most impressive about that run of good fortune is how Lewis has stepped up each time out.

First it was a crushing, down-the-pipe, one-punch KO of Jason Kuchera at Heat XC 1 that took a mere 31 seconds. Then a seemingly unstoppable Jay Whitford, who had pulled off startling submission wins over Kuchera and Lofton despite taking a vicious assault along the way both times, was done in by a Lewis barrage of punches in only 29 seconds. Jared Kilkenny didn’t fare much better as Lewis took him out with ground-and-pound in less than four minutes. Following that was the fight that put Lewis in the prime time position at MFC 24.

Despite being outmaneuvered in the early stages of the opening round, Lewis summoned up an overwhelming explosion in the dying seconds and toppled Marvin Eastman with a knockout at MFC 23. It was a difference-making win for Lewis. A defeat would have dropped back into the pack of lower level competition, but the victory pushed him to the next step, perhaps just a rung or two below being a serious title contender.

And that’s where Lewis needs to take his game. A loss to Heath drops him back in the mix of second-tier opposition. A win, though, and he’ll have proven to have exorcised the demons of the past, rid himself of the tag of being a guy who wilts under the pressure or the spotlight, and move forward into becoming a true big-name foe fighting in front of an ever-growing legion of fans. Lewis is so beloved in his home town he could run for mayor and win in a landslide. An impressive win over Heath and many more people will be lining up to cast ballots in his name.