LAS VEGAS – Derrick Lewis isn’t patting himself on the back after raising the bar for most knockouts in UFC history.
Lewis (26-8 MMA, 17-6 UFC) scored a UFC record 13th finish by strikes on Saturday when he slept Chris Daukaus (12-4 MMA, 4-1 UFC) in the opening round of the the UFC Fight Night 199 main event at the UFC Apex. “The Black Beast” has been a prime candidate to set the record for a few years now, and he finally has sole possession after snapping a tie with Vitor Belfort and Matt Brown.
Although the accomplishment should come with a lot to be proud about, Lewis is rather unexcited by it all and said it doesn’t alter his perspective on his career.
“It doesn’t mean anything,” Lewis told MMA Junkie and other media at the UFC Fight Night 199 post-fight news conference. “It means something, I guess, because of all the greats that was here before me. But really, it doesn’t change anything. There’s still a lot of other guys that’s active and doing pretty good as well.”
Lewis may have a unfazed demeanor when it comes his achievement, but UFC president Dana White said it’s nothing to dismiss.
Having only been in the UFC since April 2014, “The Black Beast” has already done quite a lot. His name is plastered all over the UFC heavyweight record books, and now he’s claiming overall company records, too.
Lewis hasn’t been knocking out sub-par fighters, either. He’s been in the upper tier of the weight class for the majority of his tenure, and White was glowing about Lewis’ ability to consistently find the great equalized with his power.
“If you look at the amount of times that he’s been here and the records that he’s broken, it’s impressive,” White said. “He looked good tonight. You could see he was waiting. He was timing those shots and he was ready. He looks pretty lean for Derrick, too. He got in good shape. He said that last fight (against Ciryl Gane) pissed him off and he wanted to make up for it tonight, and he did.”
Derrick Lewis: UFC knockout record ‘doesn’t mean anything’; Dana White lauds achievement
