Derrick Lewis Names Three Potential Opponents For His Next Fight
Derrick Lewis wants Alistair Overeem, Curtis Blaydes, or Francis Ngannou next after beating Aleksei Oleinik by second-round TKO at UFC Vegas 6. Lewis survived several tough spots against the submission specialist before getting the finish. Speaking post-fight press conference ‘The Black Beast’ claimed he was confident throughout the fight despite finding himself in some tricky situations.
“I feel good,” Lewis said. “He fought just like we thought he was going to fight. The submission defense by him holding my neck like that is what we practiced all week – really the last two weeks, the elbow tuck and turn into him. We (saw) him do that bulldog choke. You don’t want to get tapped on your neck like that, so I couldn’t tap.”
“I was wishing there were crowds in the stands because I was snorting, making a funny noise while he was choking the hell out of my neck,” Lewis said. “I was like, ‘damn, I’m making too much noise. I wonder if they can hear it on TV.’ So I can’t tap like that. I know my kids watching. They would tease me forever.”
As for what’s next Lewis says he want’s a number one contender fight and that it could come against one of three men.
“Curtis Blaydes makes sense,” Lewis said. “(Francis) Ngnannou makes sense. (Alistair) Overeem makes sense. That’s about it. We’ll see what happens next week and see who makes sense after that match. I for sure have to get down 15-20 pounds to feel comfortable in there. Yep, then you’ll really see something scary out of me, for sure.” (Transcribed by MMA Junkie)
Immediately after watching the UFC Vegas 6 main event, Blaydes called dibs on fighting Lewis next. He faces competition for the fight though as Overeem has already spoken of his desire to take an “easy paycheque” against Lewis. While Ngannou will be keen to avenge the defeat he suffered against ‘The Black Beast’ in 2018.
Who do you think Derrick Lewis should fight next?
