Salt Lake City, UT — Derrick Lewis surprised many, opponent Marcos Rogerio de Lima most of all, by launching a flying knee off the opening bell of their UFC 291 heavyweight fight. Moments later, the Brazilian was done.
Lewis (27-11, 1NC) took sole possession of the UFC KO record with the win, moving past Matt “The Immortal” Brown to 14 knockout finishes. He also snapped a three-fight skid with a triumphant, quick, and brutal return to the win column.
“I always wanted to throw a flying knee out of the gate. I believe it was was the perfect timing, because he likes to keep a high guard,” Lewis told media outlets including Cageside Press following the fight. He also noted that Rogerio de Lima likes to wait for opponents to throw something. “I just knew that the flying knee or the 1-2 right off the bat was going to be there.”
Lewis is the first to admit that he felt the pressure of a three-fight losing streak coming into UFC 291, especially with the bout being the final on his current contract. “I had a lot of pressure on me coming into this fight. I just wanted to prove to everyone that I’m still one of the best fighters in the world,” said Lewis.
That pressure was something he put on himself, added the heavyweight. And he responded by buckling down in training. “I finally did everything right. Trained my ass off for 11 straight weeks. I didn’t drink any sodas, that probably was one of the keys to me getting a little six pack. That’s about it.”
With his contract expiring, there’s the prospect of free agency, especially coming off a big win. The PFL is out there, with Francis Ngannou having secured a million dollar payday for his next opponent in MMA. Lewis and Ngannou have fought before, but there was no mention of that on Saturday. And Lewis appears to prefer staying put.
“I’m hoping to stay here in the UFC. I like it here, I like the staff,” Lewis stated, before poking fun at the media in attendance. “Everybody’s cool here except for the media. You all are d*ckheads. F*ck all y’all, really, I should walk out right now. But go ahead, next question,” he joked.
As for his post-fight celebration, that saw him strip off his shorts and run deliver a few D-Generation X style crotch chops, it was “spur of the moment,” said Lewis. “My d*ck’s got a mind of its own. It do what it wants. Spur of the moment.”
Claiming sole possession of the KO record, meanwhile, “it means something,” Lewis stated. “I work hard. I wanted to get something fantastic out there, let everyone know I’m still one of the most exciting fighters in the UFC.”
Now back in the win column, Derrick Lewis feels he has another title run in him. He faced Daniel Cormier for UFC gold in 2018, and Ciryl Gane for an interim belt in 2021, coming up short both times.
“I believe I do,” replied Lewis, asked about having one more run at gold. “It was just so crazy and frustrating, me losing to the guys that I lost to. There’s no way in hell I should have lost to those guys. So that was another reason why I wanted to train my ass off for this fight. Because now I’ve got a lot of guys calling me out now.”
Watch the full UFC 291 post-fight press conference with Derrick Lewis above.
