Lewis fires back at Cormier: 'He's scared to face Jones'

D. Lewis has three wins in the UFC. Photo: Reproduction/Instagram @ufc

Derrick Lewis will face the biggest confrontation of his career in the main fight of UFC 230 this Saturday (03) at Madison Square Garden, in New York (USA). 'Black Beast' will face Daniel Cormier for the heavyweight title. The confrontation between the fighters was confirmed at the beginning of October, with a month to go before the event. In a press conference after the open training, the challenger accused 'DC' of accepting the fight with him for fear of facing his arch-rival, Jon Jones.

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“The reason he’s going to fight me, is because Jon Jones he's already going to fight in December, and he didn't want to fight until January. And the entire media was saying that Cormier wouldn't fight for the light heavyweight belt, that he was basically afraid to face Jones now. So he thought it would be perfect to fight a guy like me, without many skills. I think he's scared of facing Jones, the guy hit him twice”, said Lewis.

'Black Beast' comes off a victory over Alexander Volkov at UFC 229 on October 6th. The fighter was massacred throughout the confrontation, but managed a knockout at the end of the third round. Even with his great performance, Lewis stated that he was surprised by the organization's call to fight for the belt.

“Yeah, it's kind of crazy that this is happening (fighting for the belt 28 days after a fight). But I see it as just another fight. I'm not a martial artist, I know you (the press) don't expect me to come here and try to do some crazy submissions, be very technical. You will have what you have seen, I will fight with all my heart”, admitted the fighter.

Lewis admitted to having accepted the fight less than a month in advance due to the value of the purse offered by the UFC. According to the fighter, the fight will earn him more than he earned all year. Derrick had three fights in 2018: Volkov, Francis Ngannou e Marcin tybura.

Derrick is going through a good phase in the organization, in 10 fights he has won nine. Lewis has 26 career clashes, 21 wins and five setbacks. 'Black Beast' faced experienced athletes such as: Gabriel Napao, Roy Nelson, Travis Browne and Francis Ngannou.