Derrick Lewis says becoming UFC heavyweight champion would be “crazy”
Derrick Lewis knows if he beats Curtis Blaydes this Saturday at UFC Vegas 19 he would be one step closer to a heavyweight title shot.
Lewis fought for UFC gold on short notice at UFC 230 and was submitted by Daniel Cormier. He then lost to Junior dos Santos in his next but rallied to beat Blagoy Ivanov, Ilir Latifi, and Alexey Oleynik. If he gets past “Razor” he would likely be in line for a title shot or be in a number one contender fight which is crazy to him.
“That would be crazy. That would be really crazy for a guy like me, going through all the stuff that I went through, and becoming UFC champion, heavyweight champion of the world,” Lewis said at UFC Vegas 19 media day. “That’s just crazy to even put in the same sentence as my name: ‘Derrick Lewis, heavyweight champion of the world.’
“It just felt even crazy when they announced I have the all-time knockouts in the UFC compared to all the thousands of other guys who fought before me and all the big knockout artists that they had,” Lewis continued. “It’s crazy that I’m the No. 1 guy now. It’s like crazy, especially how I used to approach the sport, not even really taking it seriously. To even be this far in my career is just so crazy.”
Derrick Lewis has also said he is starting to take the fight game seriously. He has dealt with some back issues and admitted he didn’t train that often as he knew his power would get him the win. Yet, as he works his way up the ranks, he has found the motivation and is now training boxing, wrestling, jiu-jitsu, etc., to only enhance his all-around game and cement his case as a heavyweight contender. But, in order to really cement his case he needs to beat Curtis Blaydes on Saturday.
