During his time in the UFC, Derrick Lewis has been one of the promotion’s most consistent main event attractions.
Heavyweight fights are always a go-to headliner because of the chances of a knockout and Lewis knows more about that than anyone else.
Fans attending UFC Nashville on Saturday night will be hoping for another vintage ‘The Black Beast’ performance when Lewis faces rising heavyweight Tallison Teixeira.
While his knockouts certainly help, the fan favorite isn’t beloved by the fans only for his ability to end the fight at any moment.
Lewis’ approach to fighting and hilarious interviews have made him one of the biggest personalities in the sport but we may not see that on July 12.
Derrick Lewis says he’s trying to be more ‘mindful’ to avoid embarrassing his children
In a recent interview with Shakiel Mahjouri ahead of UFC Nashville, Derrick Lewis was asked which iconic line of his embarrasses his kids the most.
‘The Black Beast’ has become arguably even more well known for some of his memorable post-fight interview comments as he has his knockout record.
However, Lewis has been trying to implement a change in his ways in recent times which means we may not get another viral statement after the fight.
He stated that while it can be hard to control your emotions after a fight, he’s trying to be more mindful in these moments so that he doesn’t produce any second-hand embarrassment.
“So that’s why I’m not doing it anymore. I’m not doing that again. I never think about it in the moment but afterwards I think about it like, damn, I’m sorry.”
Lewis specifically referenced how his antics after a fight might impact his children or his reputation when he’s out in public around people who may have seen what he does for a living.
“They’re older now so I’m trying to be mindful of the things I do because they want me to go to their school events and stuff like that. So, I really don’t think about it until I’m like man, wait, these parents are around my age so they know about everything I’m doing and saying. So I’m like I got to take a step back.”
Derrick Lewis was happy to find out some more information about his next opponent
Derrick Lewis may be trying to be more mindful but that doesn’t mean that he has completely changed his approach to fighting.
‘The Black Beast’ often doesn’t know much about his opponents, though he did reveal in the interview that he’s aware that Tallison Teixeira is a 6’7″ Brazilian.
What he didn’t know, which he was surprised and happy to find out, is that the man who will be standing across from him in Nashville is also a striker who hasn’t attempted a takedown in his UFC career thus far.
“Oh good. What? A Brazilian striker? That’s rare.”