Derrick Lewis is set to fight Josh Hokit on the White House lawn next Sunday June 14th, but the big question is: which “Black Beast” will show up?
Will it be the hard hitting and gutsy Derrick Lewis that earned the record for most knockouts in UFC history? Or the Lewis who pulls out on fight week or ends up barely able to move in the octagon? Many fighters are pretty secretive about their ongoing health issues, especially leading into a fight, but Lewis was straight up while talking to Jon Anik about what went wrong in his last loss to Waldo Cortes-Acosta in January.
“But one of my downfalls I have for my whole career is I’ll mess my back, I’ve been having back issues,” Lewis said. “I believe they really got it dialed down now because the last fight, I had cut a lot of weight. I didn’t really walk around where I usually fight at. Like, it’s supposed to be 265 [pounds]. So right after I made weight, I gained, I went all the way back up to 296.”
“I gained way too much weight and way too fast. And it hurt me in my last fight, and I had back issues the whole time. And one of the reason why I pulled out of a lot of my fights before on the day of the fight is because I gained that weight back, and it ended up hurting my back.”
That all makes sense, and the solution seems simple: re-calibrate to a new walking around weight so Lewis doesn’t need to cut 30 pounds to fight. Yet he’s had multiple fights where the same thing happens, and now he’s coming into this White House fight as the last bout added just two months from the event. Did he start adjusting and preparing for a less strenuous weight cut following the “Salsa Boy” loss? If he didn’t, Lewis could be walking into another fight where his weight cut could lead him compromised on fight day, if it allows him to compete at all.
For his part, Lewis is confident coming into his White House fight against Hokit.
“I promise you guys, promise,” he said. “Promise you guys I will not let you down. Promise.”
The bookies aren’t taking too much stock in that answer. They have Hokit a -400 favorite over the +300 dog Lewis. This wouldn’t be the first time “The Black Beast” has defied the odds, but at 41 years old against a surging up-and-comer like Hokit, it would be no easy task.