Derrick Lewis Facing A 'Life Or Death' Issue
The Black Beast had been advised not to fight on Saturday night.
On Saturday night at UFC 247 in Houston, Texas, Derrick Lewis managed to defeat Ilir Latifi via unanimous decision in a main card Heavyweight clash.
The 'Black Beast' demonstrated a wide range of new skills, including flying knees and devastating head kicks, proving that his camp's apparent introduction of water into his training regime for the first time (seriously) was a masterstroke.
However, there was more to Lewis' performance on the night than what meets the eye and the Heavyweight contender revealed on Ariel Helwani's MMA Show that he was in fact dealing with a 'life or death' issue in the lead up to the bout.
Lewis confessed that he would be 'available' if called upon to be a replacement for the Francis Ngannou Vs Jairzinho Rozenstruik fight at UFC on ESPN 8 if needed. But, he then revealed that 'my coach wants me to get something checked out that came up in my medicals that has been hindering my training. We’re supposed to be keeping it on the down low, but I got to get it checked out.'
He then went on to reveal that 'The UFC doctors know what it is and the doctors here in Houston know what it is. It’s just something that’s been going on that I got to get addressed. It’s a life-or-death situation serious.'
Lewis is known for being a character who enjoys a joke, but backed up this statement by claiming that he was 'dead serious'.
Hopefully, whatever the issue is it can be treated and Lewis will be back in the Octagon sooner rather than later. His latest victory will have aided him in climbing up the rankings and if he is able to keep building on this momentum, another title shot could soon be on the horizon.