UFC heavyweight star Derrick Lewis is one of the most entertaining figures in the company. Although he fought for the heavyweight belt at UFC 230, UFC 229 was perhaps the most important event of his career. He fought Alexander Volkov at the event in 2018 and won the fight via a spectacular comeback KO. After the bout, his interview with Joe Rogan shot his popularity up by many folds.
Lewis’ “hot ba**s” moment made the fans erupt with laughter and he became a sensation overnight! His account gained almost a million followers in an instant. With much wider fame, fans got to know Lewis a lot more. The most notable quirk about Lewis is his love for food. The Black Beast never holds back on his diet and loves eating Popeyes chicken.
His love for the place became such a viral sensation that Popeyes even gave him a lifetime of free supplies. But Lewis did not apply the privilege as the store was not close to his house. However, one thing that pro fighters can not afford to do, is to have a lack of a strict diet. But Lewis never held back on his eating habits as he, self admittedly, never took his fighting career seriously.
But that seems to have changed recently. Derrick, who holds the record for the most amount of knockouts in UFC history, has had a tough run. After knocking out Curtis Blaydes in February 2021, he got an interim title shot against Ciryl Gane at UFC 265. Derrick was on a 4-fight win streak at the time. But Gane stopped him badly and it triggered a run of unfavorable results.
Derrick Lewis has lost mad weight! Will he pack as big of a punch?? pic.twitter.com/r4vGuEyjqj
— Olivier (@OlivierJiuJitsu) February 2, 2023
In his last 4 fights, Lewis lost 3 and his only win was over Chris Daukaus. After his recent bad form, it appears that Lewis is finally taking himself seriously. In some recently released images, Lewis was seen working on his cardio as he went on a run. He also seems to be conscious of the fact that his weight needs to be in check. So his going on runs and maintaining himself, only bodes well for his career.
How much did Derrick Lewis weigh for the biggest fights of his career?
Derrick Lewis is no doubt an elite competitor. No fighter can have the record of the most amount of knockouts without having skills. So Lewis is obviously talented and his power is only comparable to that of Francis Ngannou’s. However, Derrick also has a history of falling short in the biggest fights of his career. Whenever the light was the brightest, Lewis folded under the pressure.
Were his shortcomings related to his lack of discipline? Mark Hunt, Francis Ngannou, Daniel Cormier, Junior dos Santos, and Ciryl Gane are the biggest names that he fought. Other than a lackluster win over Francis, Lewis lost against all the other fighters mentioned above. So let’s find out how much he weighed for the fights.
Lewis fought Hunt in June 2017 in New Zealand. The bout was spectacular and Hunt won the fight via fourth-round knockout. In the bout, he seemed to be lacking the necessary cardio to last the entire five rounds. For that bout, Lewis weighed in at the heavyweight limit of 265 lbs.
But Lewis came in slightly less under the limit at 264.6 lbs against Daniel Cormier at UFC 230. Cormier, on the other hand, came in at 251.2 lbs. So it was apparent that DC was better equipped to get the upper hand on Lewis. Cormier submitted Lewis at just the 2:14 minute mark of the second round.
He headlined a Fight Night card alongside JDS for their fight in 2019. Lewis weighed in at 265.5 lbs, whereas Junior dos Santos weighed in at 246.5 lbs. JDS knocked Derrick out in the second round and looked much sharper on the night. So was the case against Gane at UFC 265, where Lewis came in at 264.5 lbs. Hence, Gane at 247 lbs, was much lighter and faster.
So it is perhaps for the best that Lewis is attempting to lose weight and improve his cardio. He has the power to knock out anybody on the roster. Becoming leaner would increase his speed and it will make him much more dangerous for his opponents going forward. What do you make of Derrick Lewis’ latest weight loss? Let us know in the comments down below.
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