Derrick Lewis has been keeping very busy inside the Octagon. However, he’s apparently getting paid handsomely for his services. Lewis fought twice in 28 days towards the end of 2018, the latter of which being a failed UFC heavyweight title bid against Daniel Cormier. Now, Lewis will fight four months later against former champ Junior dos Santos.
The pair main event UFC on ESPN+ 4 this weekend (Sat. March 9, 2019) from Wichita, Kansas. Lewis initially wanted some time off, but since the UFC continued to offer him fights, he settled for a renegotiated contract instead (via MMA Junkie):
“I’m like, I told you all I wanted some time off,” Lewis said. “Then I told my manager we can go ahead and renegotiate the contract, because they’re not wanting to give me time off. They came back with Dos Santos, and I said, ‘OK, I’ll fight him.’ They were saying it was going to be in March. I said, ‘That’s even better.’”
Lewis is so happy with his new deal, that he says the disclosed numbers of his earnings don’t do it justice:
“It doesn’t matter if they like me or not,” Lewis said. “I’m really happy with my contract. I wish I could say more about it, but even though some numbers are going to pop up after the fight, it still won’t do it any justice.”
Of course, with fame and his newfound wealth, Lewis has had a lot of friends and family coming out the woodwork seeking assistance:
“My kids are acting like I’m rich anyway, so they always want to buy this and buy that, and go here and go there,” Lewis said. “So I’m really doing it for them. I just want to make sure they’re happy and my wife is happy.
“Especially all my family members coming out of the woodwork, saying everybody not able and this and this, they need this and they need that. Oh, they’re behind on these bills, and they need help. So of course, I’ve got to keep going.”
What do you think about Lewis claiming the disclosed numbers don’t do his new UFC contract justice?
