UFC heavyweight Derrick Lewis says he’s been dealing with a serious medical issue.
Lewis was seen in action this past Saturday night (Feb. 8). He collided with Ilir Latifi. “The Black Beast” was able to score a unanimous decision victory over Latifi in the opening main card bout of UFC 247 in Houston, Texas.
Derrick Lewis Reveals Serious Medical Issue
Lewis appeared on ESPN’s Ariel Helwani MMA Show and revealed that he’s actually been going through a serious medical issue and he had to get a second opinion before taking his last fight (h/t MMAFighting.com).
“Oh yeah. It’s really like life or death situation serious,” Lewis said. “I’m dead serious. I’m dead serious. It’s something that happens to a lot of athletes. It doesn’t matter if you’re healthy or not. It’s something that could happen to you at the drop of a hat. That’s all I can say. . .
“The doctor actually had told me that he thinks I shouldn’t have took this last fight. That’s what he said. They said that with the situation like this, he don’t think I should fight. So I got a second opinion from the UFC doctors and they read it over and checked everything out and they said that it shouldn’t be a problem.”
Lewis has won two in a row with his decision wins over Blagoy Ivanov and now Latifi. “The Black Beast” was previously on a two-fight skid with losses to Daniel Cormier and Junior dos Santos. With the win over Latifi, Lewis has improved his pro MMA record to 23-7, 1 NC.
Time will tell what’s next for Lewis if his medical issues don’t get in the way. A feud appeared to have been brewing between Lewis and Greg Hardy. “The Black Beast” recently told reporters that he is no longer interested in fighting Hardy.
