Despite competing for an interim title tonight at UFC 265 with an opportunity to fight for the undisputed title after that, Derrick Lewis’ stance on world titles have never been a secret.
[ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED APRIL 30, 2018, 4:32 PM]
Derrick Lewis isn’t striving for championship gold.
Lewis is set to meet Francis Ngannou at UFC 226. The grudge match will take place inside the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on July 7. It’ll be featured on the pay-per-view portion of the card.
A win for “The Black Beast” would certainly put him in title contention. If Lewis defeats Ngannou, he’ll have gone 8-1 in his last nine outings. Despite a TKO loss to Mark Hunt, the numbers are impressive. Six of his last seven victories have come via knockout.
Despite his heavyweight status, Lewis doesn’t have his sights set on the UFC title. Instead, he’s all about the green as he told MMAJunkie.com:
“I don’t really care about some damn title. They talking about having Brock Lesnar coming in and fighting the winner out of ‘DC’ and Stipe. It doesn’t piss me off one bit because I’m not in this thing to fight for the belt anyway. I’m in it to fight for the money.”
There’s a rivalry brewing between Lewis and Ngannou. The two haven’t been fond of each other for over a year now. Ngannou isn’t impressed with Lewis’ performances, while “The Black Beast” believes Ngannou is an “African booty scratcher.”
UFC 226 will be headlined by a heavyweight title bout between champion Stipe Miocic and Daniel Cormier. “DC” is actually the reigning light heavyweight champion, but couldn’t pass up the opportunity to serve as a coach on “The Ultimate Fighter” and fight for a chance to become a two-division champion. If he defeats Miocic, he’ll become the second man to hold UFC titles in two weight classes simultaneously.
In the co-main event, Max Holloway defends his featherweight title against Brian Ortega. This will be Holloway’s second title defense. Ortega earned his shot after knocking out Frankie Edgar in the first round at UFC 222.
What do you think of the stance Derrick Lewis takes on UFC gold?
