UFC Nashville headliner Derrick Lewis says he 'damn near had to beg' to get fight booked
Derrick Lewis is confused by inactive state of UFC's heavyweight division.
It will have been a 14-month layoff for Lewis (28-12 MMA, 19-10 UFC) when he returns against Tallison Teixeira (8-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) in the UFC on ESPN 70 headliner on July 12 at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville. Lewis was scheduled to face Jhonata Diniz this past November at UFC Fight Night 246, but withdrew due to a medical issue which he refused to disclose.
Lewis vs. Teixeira will be the first heavyweight main event of 2025.
"It's crazy that nobody's fighting right now," Lewis told MMA Junkie. "Heavyweight, I don't know what's going on. I damn near had to beg to get this fight, so I don't know what's going on. Hopefully we can stay active after this."
The former title challenger is taking on another rising contender in Dana White's Contender Series graduate Teixeira, as he looks to string together his first winning streak since 2021.
"I know he's Brazilian, and he's a tall guy," Lewis said of Teixeira. "He's a heavyweight, so pretty sure he's got knockout power. I didn't watch any of his fights yet, nothing like that, but my coach told me he's got a lot of first-round knockouts. ... I've been training for like four months now, non-stop really, down to every day, and I never did that before. I'm coming into this fight, I'm pretty sure I'm going to be in great shape. My six pack will be back."
The two times Lewis fought an opponent who's 6 foot 7 or taller, he was able to knock out both Alexander Volkov and Travis Browne.
"Yeah, I'm comfortable," Lewis said. "I like fighting tall guys. It aligns with my right hand. The way I throw my right hand, it aligns with it."
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