UFC Nashville headliner Derrick Lewis would struggle to hang up his gloves without meeting this man in the cage again.
Saturday marks the latest outing for Lewis, a fan-favorite heavyweight who has one of the lengthiest highlight reels in the UFC.
Lewis has the most knockouts of anyone in the promotion’s history, and he has the chance to extend his lead in that category at the expense of Tallison Teixeira in the UFC Nashville main event.
At the age of 40, ‘The Black Beast’ may not have many walks to the cage left in him. And with that in mind, the chances of him securing one of his pre-retirement wishes continue to diminish.
- READ MORE: Top 5 Derrick Lewis knockouts ranked as the KO king attempts to extend his record at UFC Nashville
Derrick Lewis once said he had to rematch Francis Ngannou before the end of his career
When it comes to don’t-blink fighters in the heavyweight division and MMA as a whole, not many can hold a candle to Lewis and former UFC champion Francis Ngannou.
When they fought, however, eyes were certainly beginning to shut…
Lewis and Ngannou’s UFC 226 clash in 2018 was one of the worst fights of all time. Even in victory, ‘The Black Beast’ was not safe from criticism and was far from satisfied.
So much so, that the following year Lewis told MMA Junkie ahead of his UFC main event fight against Junior dos Santos that he could not retire without running it back with ‘The Predator’.
“I would like to fight him again,” Lewis said. “If he gets to the title, then, yes, I’ll fight him again. I would love to fight him again if he gets the title shot.
“I have to right the wrong. I can’t retire without fighting Francis again – at least get in a good shot on the guy. God—-, I wish I would have gotten a good shot on him.”
Given what has happened since, that rematch would be tricky to put together.
Ngannou left the UFC in early 2023 after a breakdown in contractual negotiations. He then signed with the PFL, where he’s fought once alongside two high-profile outings in the boxing ring against Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua.
The Cameroonian remains under the PFL banner, and both his and Dana White’s latest comments have suggested that a UFC comeback is far from being on the table.
Derrick Lewis vs Francis Ngannou was the ‘worst heavyweight fight’ Joe Rogan has ever seen
Among those with a front-row seat to the highly anticipated clash of heavyweight powerhouses was Joe Rogan – though he likely wishes he wasn’t.
After Rogan commentated on Lewis and Ngannou’s 31-strike snoozefest, he didn’t hold back with his description on the fight.
“Jesus Christ, it was one for the ages,” he said during an episode of the Joe Rogan Experience. “It was the worst heavyweight fight I’ve ever seen.
“It was the second lowest output ever. They didn’t even get to number one. … (Ngannou) released a statement today and his statement was essentially that he carried the fear.”