UFC heavyweight Derrick Lewis will fight for food — not fans
Some professional athletes constantly talk about a love of the game that still burns deep inside their soul.
The baseball player who waxes poetic about the smell of the grass in a big league park still reminding him of Little League, or the NBA star that constantly relays the story of putting up 1,000 shots every night in the driveway are tales that have been told over and over.
Derrick Lewis isn’t one of them.
The rising UFC heavyweight doesn’t really like mixed martial arts. He doesn’t even watch fights unless they involve potential opponents.
Even as the 31-year-old moves up the ranks, his singular focus remains on the one thing that first got him into the gym in 2009 shortly after serving more than three years in prison for violating probation for badly beating a man.
“I’m just doing this to take care of my family,” he said Tuesday in advance of his main card bout against Las Vegan Roy Nelson at UFC Fight Night 90 on Thursday at the MGM Grand Garden. “I’m not trying to be the best fighter out there. I’m just trying to put food on the table. That’s all.”
Lewis was always a fighter, even before he learned how to do it properly. When he showed promise in the gym, boxing legend George Foreman took him under his wing and Lewis learned to channel the aggression of a violent, impoverished adolescence into training.
His vicious power and intimidating look, matched with a tremendous sense of humor, particularly on social media, have Lewis on the brink of stardom.
A win over Nelson could increase his profile even more, but Lewis isn’t interested in winning over the viewing public.
“I really don’t do this for the fans,” he said. “The fans are really wishy-washy, especially in MMA. It’s not like other sports. As soon as you lose a couple of fights, you don’t even have the same fans. In the NFL or NBA, when you lose a few games, you still have the same fans. I’m not doing it for my fans. I do this for my family.”
Lewis, a father of three, is married and lives in Houston. He credits Adam Sandler as the inspiration for much of his hilarity on Twitter.
His style in the cage is far nastier.
Lewis is the first fighter in UFC history to have his first eight fights end in knockouts. He won six of them.
“I’m coming in to give it all I got,” he said. “Kill or be killed.”
Nelson is similar in his approach, though he combines a powerful overhand right with solid grappling skills. Though Nelson has gone away from his ground game in recent fights, there is a chance he could try to get the fight to the mat, where he would seem to have a big advantage over Lewis.
That still wouldn’t change the approach of “The Black Beast.”
“I’m a brawler,” he said. “It doesn’t matter where the fight goes. I’m always looking for the knockout. I can be on my back and still looking for a knockout.”
A win could help move him up the ranks, and Lewis said he thinks he will be in the title discussion by next year.
But it’s not the belt he’s after. He knows it would bring him bigger checks and the opportunity to make more money outside the cage.
That, after all, is why he plays the game.
Contact reporter Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5509. Follow him on Twitter: @adamhilllvrj
