Derrick Lewis Motivated To Fight ‘Wife Beater’ Travis Browne
This heavyweight clash just got personal…
Surging heavyweight prospect Derrick Lewis returns at UFC Fight Night 105 on February 19. Hoping to extend his win streak to six, ‘Black Beast’ faces Travis Browne in the Halifax main event. Since joining the UFC in 2014, Lewis has built an impressive 8-2 record. Victories over Gabriel Gonzaga and Roy Nelson highlight his current spree. Similar to Francis Ngannou, who won at UFC on FOX 23 last weekend, a lot of fans have their eyes on Lewis right now.
Coming close to losing against Shamil Abdurakhimov in his last fight, ‘Black Beast’ will no doubt want to make a statement against ‘Hapa.’ Although his main event clash with Browne has already been announced, Lewis reveals he hasn’t actually been granted entry to Canada yet. Citing his criminal record, the 31-year old Texas resident tells Ariel Helwani he hasn’t received an answer in regards to being allowed in to Canada.
Lewis Fires Shots
Speaking during last night’s episode of The MMA Hour, Lewis talked about potential visa issues, before digging at Browne’s past.
“They haven’t actually told me if I can get in to Canada, because of my (criminal) record. I’ve never been to Canada before. I really would have liked to have fought on the pay-per-view card in Brooklyn, I haven’t fought on PPV yet. I believe (Travis) is a good fighter, he’s going to be one of my toughest opponents. He was looking him like I’m disrespecting him, calling to fight him.”
“I just wanted a real good fight, but he’s looking at it like I’m disrespecting him. He can look at it like motivation, but I can look at him beating his wife as my motivation. With my childhood, watching my Mom get beaten by a man, feeling helpless, and I could look at this as some type of motivation since he likes beating on women. I’m always looking for something to give me motivation.”
Lewis & The Future
Where does heavy hitter Derrick Lewis fit in the heavyweight division’s future? We’ll certainly know a little more after UFC Fight Night 105, but ‘Black Beast’ is dangerous, popular and motivated right now. Another interesting point is that of Browne’s future, as he is reported to have finally left Glendale fight club. With the 265-pound weight class currently struggling, will Lewis emerge as one of the heavyweight elite?
