After his win on the UFC 229 main card, Derrick Lewis shared what he would have done if he was in controversial headliner Conor McGregor’s shoes.
Lewis, one half of the upcoming UFC Nashville main event, isn’t short on highlight-reel moments on MMA’s biggest stage. And of Lewis’ record tally of UFC knockouts, not many of them can hold a candle to what went down at T-Mobile Arena in October 2018.
‘The Black Beast’ mounted an incredible comeback to avoid certain defeat on the scorecards at UFC 229, as Lewis knocked out Alexander Volkov in the final minute.
That miraculous come-from-behind result was somewhat lost in the post-event coverage, as the community flocked to discuss Khabib Nurmagomedov’s crushing win against Conor McGregor and the subsequent brawl in the main event.
And even Lewis himself got in on the act by assessing the Irishman’s future after a devastating night at the office in Las Vegas.
Derrick Lewis told Conor McGregor to retire after brutal loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov
Following Nurmagomedov’s face crank and the dramatic brawl that ensued after the UFC 229 headliner, Lewis reflected on things during an interview with TMZ Sports.
In terms of McGregor’s next steps, ‘The Black Beast’ said that if he was in the Dubliner’s shoes, he would have been sitting back and enjoying the lucrative fruits of his labor up to that point.
“Sh-t, there ain’t nothing he can really do or prove anymore,” Lewis told TMZ. “He made more money than I would ever make in this sport so he probably should just sit his ass down, too.
“I would,” Lewis added, when asked if McGregor should retire. “He made life-changing money. He really don’t have to fight.
”I’m fighting just so I can take care of my family. I don’t fight just because I love it just that much. I’m fighting because it’s a job for me.
“(If I ever got the $50 million check), I’m cutting off family members, everybody, cutting everybody off, I’d probably even get a divorce.”
Conor McGregor didn’t heed Derrick Lewis’ advice and has just one win since
McGregor did not heed the words of Lewis and others who advised a similar course of action. And given what has happened since, he might wish that he had.
‘The Notorious’ has had just three fights in the seven years since, losing a further two times.
After McGregor ran through Donald Cerrone in his comeback, the Irishman dropped back-to-back outings against Dustin Poirier.
His most recent loss to ‘The Diamond’ came in gruesome fashion after the former two-division UFC champion broke his leg at UFC 264 in July 2021.
McGregor hasn’t competed since and had a scheduled clash with Michael Chandler canceled in the summer of 2024.