‘I Don’t Want to Wait’- ‘The Black Beast’ Derrick Lewis Says He’s Losing His Opportunity to Make Money

The UFC heavyweight division is brimming with top talent right now. The belt will be defended later this month as Stipe Miocic aims to make it 2-0 against Francis Ngannou. However, the likes of Alexander Volkov, Ciryl Gane, Derrick Lewis among others wait in line for a title shot.

‘The Black Beast’ has perhaps cemented his place as the number one contender after absolutely demolishing Curtis Blaydes in their fight last month. In the process, he extended his win streak to 4-0 in the UFC. However, it will be a while before ‘The Black Beast’ can fight for the title, as Jon Jones will fight the winner of the Stipe vs Ngannou. 

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Derrick Lewis not willing to sit around and wait for a title shot

On a recent episode of Joe Rogan’s podcast, Derrick Lewis shared his thoughts about the current landscape of the heavyweight division and what is next for him. 

He said, “For me, I want to stay active. I don’t want to be waiting around to fight anyone, because I’m not young like I used to (be). So I don’t want to wait around and fight for the title or wait around to fight a certain opponent, I want to fight anyone who is ready. I know my window of time is closing to make money. I don’t have that much time left to make money, so I don’t want to just sit around”

When asked if he would be open to fighting up-and-coming stars like Gane, he said, “It all depends. I don’t know how the UFC wants to build up that Ciryl Gane guy or if they want to get him in there in the mix right away.”

“Started getting tagged in the fight (clips on social media), because they said (Gane vs. Rozenstruik) still wasn’t worse than me and Francis. I’m like, ‘Damn. OK. Sh*t.’” (transcribed by MMA Junkie)

Following his win against Curtis, ‘The Black Beast’ now holds the record for the most knockout wins in UFC history. He also has just one more fight left on his UFC contract and will be hoping to get an extension on the deal sometime soon. 

If he was to wait for a title shot, Lewis may very well be out till 2022. However, he is not willing to do that and is ready to take on Ciryl Gane, who is undefeated in the UFC at the moment. Do you think it would be a good fight?