As the NFL inches closer to the Super Bowl, the Houston Texans have hit a major roadblock. Last week, the New England Patriots bounced the Texans from the Divisional Round, leaving fans frustrated and deflated. The loss once again put the spotlight on team captain and quarterback C.J. Stroud, who has now bowed out in the Divisional Round for the third straight season. Now, a UFC 324 star has commented on the team’s poor performance.

UFC 324 star Derrick Lewis stepped in and reignited talk of a supposed “curse” surrounding the Texans. While fans on Reddit and X threads have focused on Stroud’s public appearances with Kim Kardashian and Amber Rose for years, ‘The Black Beast’ blamed these high-profile associations for the Texans’ struggles over the past few years.

UFC star doesn’t hold back on C.J. Stroud at UFC 324 media day

“I guess we gotta see what’s going on with C.J. I think ever since we seen them show up with Amber Rose a couple games a few years ago and Kim Kardashian and all that, I’m like, man, it might be like a curse for them,” Derrick Lewis said at UFC 324 when a media persona asked him what “moves,” he would like to see the Texans make next season.

Born in New Orleans but raised in Houston, Derrick Lewis feels a personal connection to the Texans and holds high expectations for the team, which is why he has openly voiced his support. Over the years, the Texans have struggled. Last season, they started on a rough patch but improved steadily; however, they ultimately lost in the AFC Divisional Round, and many fans jokingly blamed a “curse.”

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The so-called “curse” around C.J. Stroud and the Texans didn’t appear overnight. Instead, it developed gradually over several years. Speculation started in 2023, when reports linked Stroud romantically to Kim Kardashian. Later, both parties dismissed the rumors, clarifying that Kardashian had only attended a charity event supporting criminal justice reform and had no romantic involvement.

The “curse” theory surfaced in February 2024, after fans saw C.J. Stroud with Amber Rose at a charity softball event. The two were also seen leaving the event together as rumors started spreading; however, Rose dismissed the claims, calling the encounter a pure coincidence and shutting down the speculation.

While Rose and Kardashian often catch fans’ attention with their high-profile relationships, fans love to joke about them, just like UFC 324 star Derrick Lewis. With that said, Lewis supports the Texans through every win or loss. “Whenever we lose, a lot of guys get off the bandwagon, saying everyone needs to be fired,” Lewis said.

That doesn’t mean Lewis can’t root for another team, too.

Derrick Lewis roots for the Steelers

UFC 324 media day was supposed to focus on Derrick Lewis’ fight against Waldo Cortes-Acosta, but Lewis shifted the conversation toward the NFL, the Texans, and his love for the Steelers. Earlier this month, Pittsburgh pulled off a dramatic win over Baltimore in the NFL postseason. During the celebration, Steelers coach Mike Tomlin mimicked Lewis on camera, showing his admiration. Later, at UFC 324 media day, a reporter asked Lewis about Tomlin’s gesture.

“I’ve been a fan of the Steelers for a while,” Lewis said. “When he got signed in 2008, 2009, I was really happy about that.  I was looking for another team because the Texans weren’t doing well around then. So I was a fan of him because of his background and stuff like that… It caught me by surprise-I was really shocked he even knew my name. Usually, people say ‘the UFC fighter… that one guy that takes his shorts off…’ They don’t know my name; they just say it like that.”

Now that Derrick Lewis has opened up about his admiration for other sports figures, what do you think about his legacy? Can he continue building it in his upcoming fight against Waldo Cortes Acosta at UFC 324? Share your thoughts in the comments below.