UFC on ESPN+ 4 produces modest gate in Wichita debut

The Ultimate Fighting Championship stormed into Wichita, Kansas for the first time with a marquee heavyweight fight that delivered on its promise of fireworks, but the draw to the event was only a modest success.

UFC Fight Night on ESPN+ 4: Lewis vs. dos Santos drew a crowd of 7,265 to Intrust Bank Arena, amassing a gate of $636,417.26.

The fight card had little name value, save for the main event, which pitted a former UFC heavyweight champion against one of today’s top contenders. 

Junior dos Santos entered the fight having won back-to-back bouts over Blagoy Ivanov and Tai Tuivasa, but really needed an impressive performance against No. 3 ranked Derrick Lewis to cement his return to contention.

He did just that. Though Lewis dropped some bombs, dos Santos showed that – at 35 years of age and more than a decade into his UFC career – he’s still got a chin. Not only does he have a chin, dos Santos can still dish out the punishment as well. 

This article first appeared at News – MMAWeekly.com