Derrick Lewis said he is not proud of what he won over Francis Ngannou at UFC 226. The UFC Heavyweight said he does not think he “defeated” the Predator considering how bad the bout was. .
Lewis are currently on a four-match winning streak, having beaten Curtis Blaydes in his last leg. This helped the Black Beast climb up the rankings in the heavyweight category.
Derrick Lewis and Francis Ngannou only hit each other with 31 significant strikes in 15 minutes of action in their fight. That’s an average of almost 30 seconds of kindness between every important strike that came ashore pic.twitter.com/SZLK7zz7iJ
– MMA With the Numbers (@NumbersMMA) November 13, 2018
In his recent view of him Joe Rogan’s experience podcast, Derrick Lewis reflects on his fight against Ngannou. The Black Beast also said it would not be difficult to fight the Predator for the second time.
“I don’t even count that as beating Francis Ngannou,” Lewis told Rogan. “My back hurt, I felt fat the whole fight, I had knee issues, I had a bunch of problems on my own. I don’t know what was going on with it … I certainly happy to run back though, “said Lewis.
The Black Beast sheds light on issues with his back. He said the injury adversely affected his performance until he underwent successful knee surgery.
The strong relationship between Derrick Lewis and Francis Ngannou
The fight of Derrick Lewis vs. Francis Ngannou was one of the most anticipated beats of the year in 2018. The Heavyweight pair put horns on horns in the main event of UFC 226 led by Stipe Miocic and Daniel Cormier.
Both men had established themselves as two of the toughest artists in the promotion. Although Ngannou was losing to Miocic, the Predator had secured big wins over the likes of Andrie Arlovski and Alistair Overeem.
Lewis, on the other hand, had lost just once in his last eight matchups. The Louisiana-born player boasted 17 incredible hits coming into the fight against Ngannou.
However, the interesting trench between two of the largest heavyweights in the region was not in short supply as none of the fighters were willing to engage.
According to Fightmetric, Derrick Lewis returned only 20 important strikes on his opponent, however, Ngannou was 11 under his belt.
Derrick Lewis and Francis Ngannou only hit each other with 31 significant strikes in 15 minutes of action in their fight. That’s an average of almost 30 seconds of kindness between every important strike that came ashore pic.twitter.com/SZLK7zz7iJ
– MMA With the Numbers (@NumbersMMA) November 13, 2018
After losing his fight to Lewis, Ngannou has been raining in the overweight division. He has won four consecutive victories, finishing off his opponents in the first round through KO / TKO.
The Predator is expected to challenge the Heavyweight Champion again in a replay to be held on March 27 at UFC 260.