Derrick Lewis Not Retiring, Targeting Bout With Francis Ngannou
After being stopped in the fourth round of his main event bout with Mark Hunt at UFC Fight Night 110 earlier this month, No. 7-ranked heavyweight contender Derrick Lewis admitted that he was considering retirement.
After taking some time to think about it, however, “The Black Beast” told Ariel Helwani on today’s (June 26, 2017) edition of The MMA Hour that he was looking to get back into the Octagon in the near future, although he first needs to have a back injury evaluated:
“We’re just hoping that we don’t have to get surgery, because I thought about it a little bit, and it’s not going to be my last fight,” Lewis said. “I’m going to try to get back in there as soon as I can, and we’ll find out Wednesday, see what’s going on and if it’s not too serious. Hopefully I can get back in there before the end of the year.”
As far as the injury goes, it seemed to have seriously hindered Lewis’ performance against Hunt, as “The Black Beast” said that he ‘couldn’t move at all’ as the fight went on:
“That was the second time it ever happened in a fight. The first time, I still won in the third round. I knocked the guy out in the third round whenever that happened the first time. And it happened again in the Mark Hunt fight, and it was like, damn, I couldn’t move at all. The best thing I could do was just stand there and just take it, because it couldn’t move anymore.”
After the loss to Hunt, Lewis received some backlash from former opponent Travis Browne as well as rising heavyweight contender Francis Ngannou, which he says helped him make the decision to return to the Octagon:
“Whenever the booty-scratcher (Ngannou) started talking sh*t, and Travis Browne waking up from the dead, talking sh*t,” Lewis said.
“That guy (Ngannou) is not impressed with nobody, so it’s normal for him to say anything stupid. … Travis Browne don’t know what’s he thinking. Travis, he’s out there, man. That guy has been knocked out so many times, he’s been rocked so many times, he don’t know what to say. He’s just trying to stay relevant.”
“He better be worrying about [his fight at UFC 213] and not worried about me. It’s already done and over with between me and him.”
With that being said, a bout against Ngannou would be ideal for “The Black Beast”:
“If I can, I’d get him next,” Lewis said. “If not, that’s fine. I’ll give anyone hell, but right now that’d be a good one.”
Who would you like to see Lewis take on in his next bout?
