Derrick Lewis ‘Appreciates’ Tai Tuivasa For Beating Greg Hardy, Believes Shoeys Are ‘Nasty’
Fan-favorite UFC heavyweight knockout king, Derrick Lewis has praised upcoming UFC 271 opponent, Tai Tuivasa for knocking out Greg Hardy at UFC 264, but admitted he was less than a fan of the Sydney native’s customary post-fight shoey, labelling the practise as “nasty”.
Lewis, the most prolific knockout artist in the history of both the heavyweight division and the entire UFC, is set to co-headline UFC 271 on February 12. in a Houston, Texas homecoming – tackling Australian heavy hitter, Tuivasa in a bout which may have very well have championship implications for the victor.
Derrick Lewis will feature at the Toyota Center for the first time since his UFC 265 headliner in August
The #3 ranked contender holds the most knockout wins in the history of the organization with 13 separate knockout stoppages, most recently stopping Chris Daukaus in a one-sided first round finish at UFC Vegas 45 in December.
Lewis admitted that he would be willing to fight for the heavyweight title once again in the future despite twice dropping defeats in undisputed and interim title fights, however, insisted that the bouts should take place over three sanctioned rounds.
Suggesting a pairing against former two-time titleholder, Stipe Miocic, Lewis was instead paired with the #11 ranked, Tuivasa, who has lodged four consecutive knockout triumphs.
Sharing his thoughts on Tuivasa during a recent interview with Fox Sports, Lewis admitted that he was a fan of the Australian – particularly for his knockout win over the aforenoted, Hardy, however, claimed that the former’s tendency to drink beer from a shoe following a win, was “nasty”.
“Yeah, he’s (Tai Tuivasa) good, man,” Derrick Lewis said. “I like him, I like Tai. And I really appreciate him knocking out Greg Hardy like he did in his last fight (UFC 264). Greg was talking a lot of trash that week. So I appreciate it.”
“I just thought like, the shoe – the beer drinking out of the shoe and all that, what y’all do out there, I don’t like all that, it’s nasty,” Derrick Lewis continued. “My feet smell cheesy, you know, I just can’t imagine – just another man sweating, I don’t know.”
Sharing similar fandom as Lewis, Tuivasa admitted that he was a fan of the New Orleans-born knockout artist, claiming their style of fighting is something that fans welcome.
“I’m a big fan of Derrick (Lewis) as well,” Tai Tuivasa said. “I think we’re kinda the same, you know what I mean – we go in there to bang on and we’re usuauly the crowd favorites. So, shout out to Derrick.”
