Derrick Lewis looks to prove he can still be in the top 5 at UFC Vegas 68 (Video)
Derrick Lewis gave the MMA media tips on how to take selfies and much more during the UFC Vegas 68 media day.
Derrick Lewis and Sergey Spivak were supposed to face off back in November, but that bout was scrapped due to Lewis having issues outside the cage. Now it is February and the two heavyweights will meet in a main event battle in the late hours of Saturday, February 4 at UFC Vegas 68.
“I got COVID,” Lewis said when asked during media day what caused the cancellation of the November bout. “I didn’t know it was COVID, but I still wanted to fight. I didn’t find out until the day I got home. I got pretty sick. I got a fever and started losing weight. It was bad.”
Lewis may be fighting for a spot on the roster. The 37-year-old has lost his last two, and three of his last four. Even with those losses on his ledger, he’s still sitting in the seventh position in the UFC Heavyweight rankings.
Lewis is still a feared striker, and with 13 knockouts to his name, he has the record for the most in UFC history. It was that power that carried him to two title opportunities, first losing to Daniel Cormier at UFC 230 and then dropping a shot at the interim heavyweight championship to Ciryl Gane at UFC 265.
“I don’t blame them,” Lewis said when asked about others not taking him seriously. “They felt like I wasn’t taking myself serious, the fight game serious. I gotta go out there and prove to everyone that I can still do this and still be in the top five.”
UFC Vegas 68 goes on in the late hours of Saturday into Sunday, as it is a card that begins at 10 PM Eastern Standard Time. Lewis doesn’t think stepping into the Octagon that late will throw him off his game at all.
“No because I thought about it and I used to fight around one, two o’clock when I was younger,” Lewis said. “Coming out of a bar though and I wasn’t getting paid. I used to do that back in the day so I really don’t mind. I just might as well take naps throughout the day and see how that goes.”
Sergey Spivak is a new challenge coming from lower in the rankings
Spivak is on the other side of his career. Nearly a decade younger than his opponent, he’s looking to push his way into the top ten of the division. He comes into this fight with a 15-3 professional record and is currently in slot number 12 within the UFC top 15. Spivak last competed in August where he defeated Augusto Sakai via second-round knockout.
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