“It was overwhelming”- Derrick Lewis reveals how his release from prison played on his mind in his fight against Ciryl Gane


“It was overwhelming”- Derrick Lewis reveals how his release from prison played on his mind in his fight against Ciryl Gane

Derrick Lewis opens up in a candid chat

Derrick Lewis thinks that his time in prison has changed him a lot and made him a different man altogether. In his fight against Ciryl Gane, the memories of his prison sentence came rushing back according to Lewis.

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“I was frustrated to fight. It was overwhelming to fight in front of the whole town with the pressure all on me. I put all the pressure on myself. It would have been about 13 years since my release from prison and my winning the UFC Heavyweight championship. I put all the pressure on myself. It was very nerve-wreaking. I was under pressure till the day of the fight.” Lewis said in a pre-fight press conference for UFC Vegas 45.

Watch Derrick Lewis press conference before this fight this weekend:

He was also asked about his future plans to which he replied, “I would like to continue fighting in Houston. I love fighting in Houston. It was just a bad day. I put too much pressure on myself. It is what it is. Now I want to get back in there quickly. You have to be entertaining to stay in this company, so I will do just that. My main goal is to take care of my family in the future.”

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Derrick Lewis was under tremendous pressure in his fight against Ciryl Gane

Derrick Lewis
Derrick Lewis talks about his fight and loss against Ciryl Gane

Derrick Lewis faced Ciryl Gane in a heated battle at the UFC 265 in August 2021. Lewis was no.2 and Gane was no.3 when the fight took place. The fight was a PPV and headlined the UFC 265 event. Gane defeated Lewis to become the interim champion of the heavyweight division.

Gane had the upper hand throughout the match and totally dominated over Lewis. He took down Lewis in the third round via TKO and gained the bragging rights to fight his former teammate Francis Ngannou, who is the heavyweight champion.

Also read- Olympic champion wrestler, probable UFC fighter, Gable Steveson emerges as favorite against Derrick Lewis in a fight