Derrick Lewis Has ‘Big’ Names In Mind For Next Bout

UFC heavyweight fighter Derrick Lewis is riding high following his fifth straight win at UFC Fight Night 105 when he beat Travis Browne in round two of their headlining bout in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Following the event, the big question was who Lewis would be fighting next as he rolls through the heavyweight rankings and closer to a title shot.

The fight that the fans want to see is a showdown against fellow rising big man, Francis Ngannou, who has won nine fights in a row. During a recent appearance on The MMA Hour, Lewis talked about a potential fight against Ngannou.

“Yeah I will fight him, He’s real good. This is America, you know they like to see black on black crime, they thrive on that, they love that. I’ll give it to them, yeah.”

Although Lewis isn’t opposed to a bout against Ngannou, he wants a tough challenge and is eyeing a bout against longtime veteran Mark Hunt.

“Me and him (Francis) are fight close to each other (in the rankings) so I would like to fight someone that’s more of a challenge. I believe Mark Hunt is more of a challenge,” added Lewis. “Me beating Francis is not really going to boost my stats or get me closer to the belt. He hasn’t fought the tops guys yet, just one guy, but he is running through guys.”

It should be noted that Ngannou is ranked two spots ahead of Hunt in the official rankings and one ahead of Lewis so it would make sense for Lewis to fight Ngannou instead of Hunt if he wants to get closer to a title shot.

Either way, Ngannou or Hunt, it would be a very fun fight for Lewis. Hunt has his hands full at the moment as he is scheduled to face Alistair Overeem at this weekend’s UFC 209 pay-per-view (PPV) event in Las Vegas, Nevada. It will be interesting to see which bout the UFC plans on booking.