UFC on ESPN 70: Derrick Lewis post-fight interview
Derrick Lewis talks to reporters after his UFC on ESPN 70 main event win over Tallison Teixeira in Nashville.
Derrick Lewis’ title aspirations are very much still alive.
“The Black Beast,” who’s in the twilight of his fighting career, let the world know that he’s planning on making one last run at the UFC heavyweight title. These comments come after Lewis’ latest knockout win over previously-undefeated Brazilian prospect Tallison Teixeira in the main event of Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 70 in Nashville, Tenn.
“I don’t want an easy fight like that,” Lewis told reporters at the UFC on ESPN 70 post-fight interview. “Of course, I would like to do one more run at the title. That would be good.”
Lewis (29-12 MMA, 20-10 UFC) put Teixeira (8-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) away in just 35 seconds into their main event bout. For a moment, things looked dicey for the 40-year-old, as it looked like Teixeira had hurt Lewis’ eye. However, it was a bluff that clearly worked.
“Sh*t, I was acting like something was in my eye,” Lewis said. “I was waiting on him to get a little closer, he didn’t get close enough the first time, so I really was trying to sell it, make it seem he got me in my eye pretty good. Sh*t, that’s what happened. I called it. I noticed he was trying to pull himself up with the cage, and I’m like, ‘Man, come on, man. You have me hitting my own leg.’ It was messed up.”
Some online claimed that the stoppage was a bit premature, including UFC CEO Dana White. Although Teixeira was working his way up by grabbing and holding onto the cage, which is not permitted, Lewis thinks the stoppage was right.
“Yes, the referee should’ve been stopping it,” Lewis said. “He was in and out a couple of times before he started grabbing the cage.”
Lewis is now on a two-fight winning streak and 3-1 in his past four outings. He’s challenged twice for UFC gold – once in 2018 for the undisputed title against then champion Daniel Cormier and the other in 2021 for the interim belt against Ciryl Gane. He was stopped in both fights.
