With a career tally of 28 wins and 12 losses—15 of those victories coming by knockout—Derrick Lewis holds the record for the most knockouts in UFC history. Yet, his journey has been anything but smooth. At times, ‘The Black Beast’ looks unstoppable; other times, he fades into the background. Now, riding a one-fight win streak over Rodrigo Nascimento, Lewis returns to headline UFC Nashville. And amid the chaos, he’s got a message for those still calling him out.
While having a conversation with Mike Bohn of MMA Junkie, Derrick Lewis was informed that there are only 30 active heavyweights on the UFC roster, and he has fought most of them. ‘The Black Beast’ agreed and stated that a lot of the fighters don’t even want to fight, yet there are still people who call him out. “And a lot of guys don’t want to fight. And then there’s a couple of guys calling me out, you know,” said Lewis.
He added, “So I think what I need to start doing now, once I knock guys out, is start putting my finger in their a–. You know, people won’t want to call me out afterwards. If I start putting my finger in my opponent’s a– while they’re knocked out on the ground, I don’t think anybody will want to call me out anymore.”
Having competed in the UFC since 2014, Derrick Lewis has faced a wide range of opponents throughout his career, both unranked and ranked. From Francis Ngannou to Daniel Cormier, Lewis has shared the Octagon with some of the best fighters at the peak of their careers. However, Acosta wasn’t the only one to call out the knockout machine! Back in August 2020, after Derrick Lewis’ win over Aleksei Oleinik at UFC Vegas 6, Curtis Blaydes took to X to call dibs on a fight with him. Even in 2019, Blagoy Ivanov had called Lewis out for a showdown. Lewis ended up fighting both of them and secured victories against each.
Most recently, Waldo Cortes-Acosta called out Lewis following his victory over Ryan Spann, saying during his post-fight interview: “Derrick Lewis or Tai Tuivasa—I’m ready for them.” Will the UFC book a fight between the surging heavyweight and Lewis?
Well, time will tell, but for now, ‘The Black Beast’ is focused on taking on the Brazilian prospect. In his confession, Lewis revealed that he nearly had to beg for the promotion to book the fight.
Derrick Lewis confesses to nearly begging for his UFC Nashville fight
Derrick Lewis will be coming off a 14-month layoff this July when he faces Tallison Teixeira at UFC on ESPN 70. After defeating Rodrigo Nascimento in May of last year, Lewis was scheduled to fight Jhonata Diniz at UFC Fight Night 246 this past November, but withdrew due to a medical issue, the details of which he chose not to disclose.
Now that he’s back, he expects nothing less than bangers. While speaking with MMA Junkie, Lewis highlighted, “It’s crazy that nobody’s fighting right now. Heavyweight—I don’t know what’s going on. I damn near had to beg to get this fight, so I don’t know what’s going on. Hopefully, we can stay active after this.” The stagnant situation in the heavyweight division may be largely due to Jon Jones, who has essentially held the title hostage.
Talking about his opponent, Lewis stated, “I know he’s Brazilian, and he’s a tall guy. He’s a heavyweight, so pretty sure he’s got knockout power. I didn’t watch any of his fights yet, nothing like that, but my coach told me he’s got a lot of first-round knockouts. … I’ve been training for like four months now, non-stop really, down to every day, and I never did that before. I’m coming into this fight, I’m pretty sure I’m going to be in great shape. My six pack will be back.”
Tallison Teixeira is riding an eight-fight winning streak, with all of his victories coming in the very first round. Boasting a 100% finishing rate, this matchup poses a serious challenge for Lewis. Regardless, how do you see this fight playing out? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
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