Laura Sanko has weighed in on Derrick Lewis’ chances against undefeated Josh Hokit ahead of their heavyweight clash at UFC Freedom 250.
Lewis is set to face Hokit on Sunday at the White House in Washington, with the event streaming on Paramount+. FanDuel lists Hokit as a -460 favorite against Lewis, who sits as a +320 underdog.
"It's easy to paint a story that Derrick Lewis is really up against it, and the guy has more knockouts than anyone in the history of the organization," Sanko said, before pointing to the danger Lewis still brings. "Quite often, he finds a way to land something, and there's something special in those hands."
Looking at the betting line, Sanko added, "That's not insane-insane, but that's a pretty wide stretch," and noted, "I think heavyweight, when you've got a guy like Derrick Lewis who has that punching power, it seems pretty wide given those circumstances. I understand why they're wide. Josh Hokit is a real problem for Derrick Lewis on paper. He's a real problem for a lot of guys on paper. If this gets past the first round I definitely think we're going to see those odds grow even bigger."
Lewis enters with a 29-13 professional record and 20-11 mark in the UFC, while Hokit is 9-0 overall and 3-0 in the UFC, coming off a win over Curtis Blaydes that was described as a big step up in competition after only two prior UFC fights.
Sanko also highlighted Lewis’ history of late heroics, saying, "Remember when he knocked out (Alexander) Volkov with like five seconds to go." She concluded, "He's the king of surprises, he's the king of knockouts and you can't count a guy like that out... It's closer than the odds, I think."
