LAS VEGAS – Serghei Spivac is not emotionally moved going into the biggest fight of his career at UFC Fight Night 215.
Spivac (15-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC) meets Derrick Lewis (26-10 MMA, 17-8 UFC) in Saturday’s heavyweight headliner, which takes place at the UFC Apex and streams on ESPN+. It’s his first five-round fight inside the octagon, and it’s against a former two-time title challenger who holds the record for most knockouts in history. However, none of that appears to be flustering Spivac.
During Wednesday’s UFC Fight Night 215 media day, Spivac was questioned about his level of excitement, potential nerves and the notoriety of his opponent. His demeanor was that of a person totally unfazed.
“It doesn’t matter to me who I fight,” Spivac told reporters, including MMA Junkie, through an interpreter. “Derrick is a very good fighter. He’s fought for the belt a few times already. He’s a strong guy and I prepared for that. It doesn’t matter for me who I’m going to fight, it’s just that now it’s Derrick Lewis.
“I’m going to say it again: It does not matter who stands in front of me. The time will show what’s going to happen. I do whatever I can to get to the victory. That’s why I’m here. I’m here to get the victory, I’m here to train for the victory and what name is in front of me or how loud that name is, is not important.”
Spivac earned himself a main event spot with five victories in his past six fights, including finishes of Augusto Sakai and Greg Hardy in his past two. His only defeat since early 2020 came against top-ranked contender Tom Aspinall, and now he gets another shot at someone who has been a constant presence at the top of the division.
There arguably couldn’t be a better time for Spivac to fight Lewis, too. “The Black Beast” has lost three of his past four fights and, at 37, could be vulnerable.
“I’m expecting a victory for myself,” Spivac said. “That’s what I trained for, that’s what I worked for. That’s why I’m here. The rest doesn’t matter.”
If Spivac completes his mission at UFC Fight Night 215, he should land a spot in the top 10 of the UFC’s official heavyweight rankings. That’s exactly where the 27-year-old wants to be going at this stage of his career, because as anyone else in his position should, he has big aspirations for the future.
“I don’t do the rankings,” Spivac said. “Whatever happens in the rankings is what happens, but obviously that’s our goal is to climb up and to be a contender. That’s what’s important. My dream is to be a champion. My goal is to be a champion. That’s what we trained for. The idea is to do whatever it takes to climb up these ranks and become a champ.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 215.
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