Lewis believes he and Miocic would put on a show for fans.
A championship opportunity against the winner of Francis Ngannou and Ciryl Gane sounds good, but a fun fight with a former two-time heavyweight champion is even better for Derrick Lewis.
Lewis recently returned to the win column with a first-round knockout of Chris Daukaus at UFC Vegas 45. The ‘Black Beast’ was just months removed from a TKO loss at UFC 265 to Ciryl Gane, who he faced for the interim heavyweight title in Houston. Lewis admitted the pressure of performing in front of a hometown crowd got to him, but he did not have to worry about that this time around.
Having rid himself of that pressure, Lewis has now considered options for his next fight and the best one is none other than Stipe Miocic. The 36-year-old told Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour that he believes a fight with Miocic would be exciting for fans.
“This last fight helped me,” said Lewis. “It was a big experience difference coming into this fight. I just wanted to really finally go into a fight week and not put pressure on myself, and it felt great. I plan on doing that for the rest of my career. Just go out there and have fun. I feel like I don’t have to prove anything and so that’s one of the reasons why I want to fight Stipe next. I believe that would be a great matchup for the fans and for both of us. He’s more of a wrestler, and I’m more of a wrestler as well, too. And so, it would be a great, entertaining fight.
“I’ve fought just about everyone in the division that’s in the top-10, so it’s a new face, new blood and I believe that I’d be a heavy underdog in this fight,” continued Lewis. “And I can get my fans they money back from the Gane fight.”
Lewis has previously said Miocic could be out of the title picture because he is too “punch drunk,” but that has not kept him from asking for the current No. 2 ranked contender, who is without an opponent at this time.
Miocic has not fought since being knocked out by Ngannou and losing the belt at UFC 260 this past March. The Strong Style Fight Team product revealed he was set to speak with the UFC brass about either a trilogy with Ngannou or a meeting with Jon Jones next, though nothing has been announced yet.