At UFC on ESPN: Lewis vs Teixeira, Derrick ‘The Black Beast’ Lewis extended his record for most KO/TKO stoppages in UFC history to 16. The fight ending was not without some controversy: though Tallison Teixeira absorbed numerous unanswered punches to the head, he did manage to make it back to his feet at the moment when the referee stepped in to stop the bout. Minor controversy aside, we got vintage Lewis from the post-fight celebration to the interview: Taking off his shorts, pretending to mark his territory on his opponent’s corner, mooning the crowd, and talking about ground-and-pounding his wife when asked ‘who is next’?’.
With the rise of popularity in sports betting and online casino games, Derrick Lewis is certainly one of the fan favorites to wager on, and win or lose, you can usually count on his fights not going the distance. Or when visiting the online gambling sites you could opt to playing casino games instead, at online casino Ontario. Either way, let’s take a closer look at the Black Beast’s life and at times glorious UFC career.
Youth and Early Career
[#15 HW] Derrick Lewis has had a troubled childhood and was often involved in street fights. He began boxing at the age of 17, and also played collegiate football. His involvement in sports was not enough to keep him on the straight and narrow, and Lewis eventually ended up serving 3.5 years in prison for a probation violation stemming from an earlier assault conviction.
Upon his release, Lewis continued his involvement with boxing but has also began to train MMA, and eventually settled on cage fighting as a career. After going 1-1 as an amateur, Derrick turned pro and amassed a 4-1 record before being signed to Bellator. He lost his promotional debut to Tony Johnson by decision and left the organization, returning to the regional leagues.
From Regionals to UFC
After going 5-0 (1 NC) in smaller organizations such as the LFC, Lewis has earned a spot on the UFC roster. He went 3-2 in his first five fights with the promotion, with all five fights ending in a first or second round (T)KO. However. he was stopped by the more notable of his opponents in Matt Mitrione and Shawn Jordan.
Win Streak
Lewis then went on to win his next 6 UFC fights, all except for a split decision win over Roy Nelson ending in stoppages due to punches. His victims included heavyweight standouts such as Travis Browne and Gabriel Gonzaga. This streak earned Lewis the reputation as one of the most feared knockout artists in the division. However. when pitted against a seasoned kickboxer in Mark Hunt, it was Lewis who ended up on the wrong end of a TKO, bringing the streak to an end and dashing Derrick’s title aspirations, at least for the time being.
First Title Shot
After racking up three more wins, including a decision over Francis Ngannou in a fight where neither contestant did anything of note, and a late come-back knockout of Alexander Volkov, Lewis earned a shot at then champion, Daniel Cormier. Derrick’s “just stand up” style of ground defense did not work against Cormier’s wrestling prowess, resulting in a second round win for Cormier by the way of rear naked choke.
Second Title Shot
Lewis was stopped by Junior dos Santos in his very next fight, then managed to win four in a row, culminating with a brutal KO of Curtis Blaydes in a fight where Lewis was criticized for throwing unnecessary follow-up punches to an already unconscious opponent. Lewis’ response when questioned about this was as deadpan as ever: “Herb Dean’s fault!”. The victory over Blaydes propelled Lewis into another title shot, this time an interim affair vs Cyril Gane. Once again, Black Beast came up short and was stopped by punches in the third round.
Latter Years
Lewis rebounded with a victory over Chris Daukaus, however then dropped three straight fights for the first time in his career, and was finished in all three. Just as it looked like his career is winding to an end, Lewis seemingly found a second wind, and went 3-1 in his next four UFC bouts, with all three wins being first round knockouts and his sole loss a unanimous decision to the rising heavyweight contender Jailton Almeida.
Future and Legacy
In his post-fight interview after defeating Tallison Teixeira, 40-year-old Lewis stated that he wants to make one more final run at the title. Given the current state of the heavyweight division, this is not as unlikely a scenario as it appears on the surface. While Tom Aspinall, who has recently been promoted from interim to undisputed champ after Jon Jones’ retirement, is most likely to take on Cyril Gane in his next bout, beyond Gane the HW landscape is barren of opponents whom Aspinall has not already handily dispatched. Almeida has also been campaigning for a title shot and is certainly more deserving than Lewis; however The Black Beast is a much bigger name and a fan favorite. who has also not faced Aspinall before. If Tom is active as a champion, as he promised he would be, a Derrick Lewis title defense may not be very far off in the future.
Even if Lewis does not get another opportunity to fight for the gold before retiring, his legacy as one of the most dangerous – and enterntaining – heavyweights in the UFC history is already cemented. Derrick Lewis is 20-10 in the UFC and holds the following records and accolades:
- #28 All-Time Heavyweight
- Most knockouts in UFC history (16)
- Most finishes in UFC HW history (16)
- Third-most finishes in UFC History (15, tied with Donald Cerrone)
- Second most for the number of fights (30), and wins (20) in the UFC HW history, after Andrei Arlovski
He may not be hall-of-fame material if he doesn’t finish out his career with a gold belt, but we will always remember him as the UFC’s knockout king, and a clown on the microphone who has brough us such gem one-lines as “my balls was hot”.