Derrick Lewis responds to Daniel Cormier’s recent comments about him.
From being a streaking knockout artist in the UFC’s heavyweight division, Derrick Lewis has now found himself in a bit of a skid. “The Black Beast” is currently on a two-fight losing streak, both of which he lost via early KO and TKO.
Because of this recent slump, observers like Daniel Cormier are now doubtful about Lewis’ spot at the top and whether or not he could still hang with his peers at the elite level.
“I think Derrick’s done at the top,” said Cormier in a recent episode of his ESPN show with Ryan Clark. “I think Derrick’s absolutely done at the top of the division. I just don’t know if he still can’t knock out No. 10, 11, 12, 13, because I just don’t think those guys are as good as they are.”
Lewis got a chance to respond to these criticisms during Wednesday’s UFC Vegas 68 media day.
“I don’t give a damn what ‘DC’ says,” he said (H/t MMA Mania). “I seen that bulls—t. I guess you gotta say that whenever you got high cholesterol. F—k it. I still feel like I can be in the Top 5.”
Despite these criticisms, Lewis (26-10, 1 NC) still wants to prove himself worthy of a top spot as he attempts to break his losing streak against Sergey Spivak this weekend.
“I guess because they felt my work ethic wasn’t there. They felt I wasn’t taking myself serious or the fight game serious or whatever. So, I don’t blame them. I gotta go out there and prove to everyone that I can still do this. I can still be in the Top 5.
In the same media scrum, Lewis revealed suffering from COVID-19 complications which resulted in the cancellation of the previous booking of the Spivak fight. It was originally scheduled to take place in November, but Lewis pulled out at the last minute.