Derrick Lewis is one of the most intriguing personalities on the UFC roster. He’s a formidable knockout artist in the octagon and is also known for his unique sense of humor and playful trolling. No one has more knockout strikes in the UFC than him. Surprisingly, the ‘Black Beast’ leveraged Francis Ngannou’s PFL move against Dana White.
Lewis is scheduled to take on Jhonata Diniz at UFC Edmonton on Saturday. Following his stunning knockout victory over Marcos Rogerio de Lima at UFC 291 in July 2023, he re-signed with the UFC. During the negotiation, the Texas-based fighter used Ngannou’s PFL joining as bargaining leverage against the top brass of the UFC.
Francis played the role of helping me get this contract that I got right now…The negotiations, I say man look what they’re doing over there (PFL). I could be over there getting that.
Derrick Lewis via MMA Fighting
With the new lucrative contract, Lewis plans to continue fighting as frequently as he did in the past. On top of this, Lewis has also shown interest in moving to WWE, which even got Dana White’s green light. Lewis and Ngannou fought each other back in 2018, which the Texas native won via unanimous decision.
📝🤝Derrick Lewis reveals Francis Ngannou played a big role in landing him a better UFC contract:
“Francis played the role of helping me get this contract that I got right now…
The negotiations, I say man look what they’re doing over there(PFL). I could be over there getting… pic.twitter.com/bxAOgnbr5f
— Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) October 31, 2024
Since then, Lewis has frequently used it to taunt the Cameroonian-French star. Meanwhile, Francis Ngannou has been thriving financially with his recent PFL debut against Renan Ferreira. In a strong performance, the ‘Predator’ claimed victory and reportedly earned significantly more than he did in the UFC. Despite all this, Lewis remains focused on his potential rematch with an intriguing opponent.
Derrick Lewis wants to rematch ‘piece of sh*t’ Daniel Cormier
Derrick Lewis and Daniel Cormier‘s rivalry is undoubtedly one of the most entertaining and hilarious in recent times. It all started at UFC 226, where DC became the UFC heavyweight champion. Lewis also fought on the card as well. During the pre-fight presser, he accused DC of making fun of his cherished ‘Popeyes chicken.’
Both shared a laugh and then fought at UFC 230, where Cormier submitted the ‘Black Beast’ to defend his belt. Both fighters have since continued this mutual trolling, which has kept fans entertained. Recently, before his fight at UFC Edmonton, Lewis talked about fighting DC again in an interesting rant.
Probably DC. Because that one still doesn’t sit right with me, man. Do people really like DC like that? C’mon, man. I told DC to his face that he’s a piece of sh*t. He’s a piece of sh*t scumbag, man. F*ck DC.
Derrick Lewis via UFC Edmonton media day
Derrick Lewis has reconsidered the way he conducts business on the mic ahead of #UFCEdmonton.
“I want to change up everything. I’m not even taking my shorts off no more … I’m just really trying to clean up my act. Be a class act this weekend, very professional.” pic.twitter.com/5EwWLfL1d9
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) October 30, 2024
From Lewis’s sarcastic demeanor, it was hard to understand how much of the rant was trolling and how much was real. But it was unexpected, given that Daniel Cormier has long been retired. It would be interesting to see what happens when the former double champion finally comes face to face with Lewis.
