Derrick Lewis will headline UFC Fight Night 218 as he faces Serghei Spivac in a heavyweight bout. Leading up to the fight, the No.7-ranked heavyweight fired back at former opponent and UFC Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier for his recent criticism.
Speaking at the UFC Fight Night 218 media day, Lewis discussed his critics, stating:
“I guess because they feel like my work ethic wasn’t there. They felt that I wasn’t taking myself serious or the fight game serious or whatever. I don’t blame them. I guess I got to go out there and prove to everyone that I could still do this. I could still be in the top five. I don’t give a d**n what DC says. I seen that bulls**t, but I guess you got to say that whenever you got high cholesterol. F**k him.”
Cormier had previously discussed Lewis on his podcast, DC & RC. While the former double champ shared that he believes Lewis will defeat Spivac at UFC Fight Night 218, he added:
“I think Derrick’s done at the top. I think Derrick’s absolutely done at the top of the division. I just don’t know if he still can’t knock out [No.] 10, 11, 12, 13, because I just don’t think those guys are as good as they are.”
While Lewis is just 5-3 over his last eight fights, his losses have come against some of the top heavyweights on the roster.
Derrick Lewis calls out Dan Miragliotta for stopping fight early
Derrick Lewis was defeated by Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 277 in his most recent appearance in the octagon. The No.7-ranked heavyweight called out referee Dan Miragliotta for stopping the fight early, noting that he no longer wants the official working his fights.
Speaking at the media day for UFC Fight Night 218, Lewis called out critics for saying that he’s lost his abilities while ignoring the early stoppage in his last bout before stating:
“Dan Miragliotta – he got a conspiracy out on me. The last two fights I lost, he’s been the ref, and if he’s the ref on this fight, I’m going to be like, ‘nah, I don’t want him’, and they still going to try to put him in the cage and he’s going to say, ‘fighter, you ready, fighter, you ready’, and I’m going to say no. We’re going to need Herb Dean or somebody up in there because he ain’t reffing none of my other fights.”
While it is unclear if Miragliotta has drawn the main event assignment for UFC Fight Night 218, it will certainly make for an interesting storyline if Lewis refuses to fight due to the referee.
Watch Derrick Lewis discuss Dan Miragliotta below (starting at the 6:10 mark):
