There will be no testing the free agent market for UFC heavyweight Derrick Lewis.
Early Thursday, The Mac Life reported that Lewis (27-11, 1NC), who joined the UFC back in 2014, had signed a new eight-fight deal with the promotion.
UFC President Dana White also confirmed on Wednesday that Lewis had re-upped his deal.
“I love Derrick Lewis. Personally and professionally, love the guy. So yes,” White said when asked about Lewis re-signing at the Power Slap 4 post-fight press conference.
The move ends speculation about Lewis jumping ship, potentially to make a move to the PFL for a high-profile, big-money payday in a rematch with Francis Ngannou. While the pair’s first fight, under the UFC banner, is widely considered one of the worst big-name heavyweight fights of all time, it would likely still have been an easy sell for the Professional Fighters Leauge, who signed Ngannou earlier this year after he vacated the UFC heavyweight championship.
Lewis fought out his existing contract at UFC 291 in Salt Lake City late last month, steamrolling Marcos Rogerio de Lima with a flying knee early in the fight. The win snapped a three-fight losing streak the popular heavyweight had endured.
Lewis competed for heavyweight gold in 2018, only to be submitted by then-champ Daniel Cormier. He fought for an interim title in 2021 at UFC 265, but was finished, this time by TKO, by French heavyweight Ciryl Gane, who would go on to lose a title unification bout against Ngannou.
Derrick Lewis is currently ranked #10 in the UFC’s official heavyweight rankings.
