Lewis wants to face Aspinall and is honest when talking about his strategy to face the champion

Derrick Lewis in victory for the UFC. Photo: Reproduction/Instagram @ufc

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Man with the most knockouts in UFC history, Derrick Lewis is preparing to return to the octagon this Saturday (12), in a duel against Tallison Xicão, in Nashville. Victorious in his last appearance, the North American plans another great triumph to get closer to the third opportunity to fight for the belt.

Confident in his power, Lewis expressed interest in measuring his strength against the current champion Tom aspinall and he didn't hesitate to say that he would accept staying in the middle of the octagon to accept an exchange from his rival.

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“I’m standing there with him. It would be nice to fight him before it’s all said and done. I still have a few fights left on my contract, and I’d love to finish out my contract. It would be great if I could. It would be great. Tell him I need to fight him.” Tom aspinall for the belt,” Lewis told MMA Junkie.

Tom aspinall is the current heavyweight champion. Photo: Reproduction/UFC

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Afterwards, the veteran lamented missed opportunities when he could have fought for the title and explained situations experienced on both occasions.

“I didn’t really fight for the belt. They tried to give me a title fight when it was Stipe (Miocic), and I wasn’t expecting the title fight because I had a knee injury, and I ended up fighting the big guy from Daniel Cormier "At the last minute, they then tried to give me an interim title fight with Gane. I didn't really fight for the title with adequate preparation for a title fight, with time to train and everything mentally," he said.

Finally, despite the request and confidence shown, Lewis recognized that the only way to defeat the champion would be to knock him out.

"I think Aspinall is a good opponent. Knocking him out is all I could do. What do you think I'm going to do, finish him off with a submission or something? I'm just looking to knock guys out. Every punch I throw, I'm looking to take their heads off. I'm not trying to waste anything," he concluded.

Derrick Lewis knocked out Rodrigo Zé Colmeia at UFC St. Louis (Photo: Instagram/UFC)

At 40 years old, Lewis will star in another event in his career. Scheduled to face Tallison Xicão in UFC Nashville, the athlete is seen as a big underdog for the clash that takes place this Saturday (12). So far, the American has 23 knockouts throughout his career, 15 of which were in the Ultimate.