Derrick James Lewis[4] (born February 7, 1985) is an American professional mixed martial artist.
A professional competitor since 2010, Lewis has also competed for Bellator MMA and Legacy FC, where he was the Heavyweight Champion.
[5] Born and raised as one of seven siblings, the second oldest, by a single mother in New Orleans, Louisiana, Lewis was troubled growing up and was often involved in street fighting.
At the age of 17, Lewis began training in boxing and was preparing for his first amateur fight when the gym unexpectedly shut down.
[7] Two weeks after graduating from high school, Lewis was charged with aggravated assault, and was placed on probation.
[8] A week after being released, Lewis was introduced to mixed martial arts by a friend and, while working as a tow-truck driver, continued with boxing under the tutelage of George Foreman.
[7] Lewis began his journey in MMA in late 2009, when he made his debut as an amateur against Jay Ross at LSAMMA on October 16, 2009.
He then faced Tim Buchanan at the United States American Combat Association event on January 30, 2010.
[12] Lewis compiled a record of 6–0 with one no-contest after leaving Bellator, most notably winning and successfully defending the Legacy FC Heavyweight Championship.
Lewis was scheduled to make his promotional debut against Nandor Guelmino at UFC Fight Night: Condit vs. Kampmann 2 on August 28, 2013.
[16] In his second fight for the promotion, Lewis faced Guto Inocente at The Ultimate Fighter 19 Finale on July 6, 2014.
[36][37] Lewis faced Shamil Abdurakhimov on December 9, 2016, in the main event at UFC Fight Night 102.
[39] Lewis faced Travis Browne on February 19, 2017, in the main event at UFC Fight Night 105.
[42] Lewis faced Mark Hunt on June 11, 2017, in the main event at UFC Fight Night 110.
[43] Despite the loss, the win earned Lewis his second consecutive Fight of the Night bonus award.
[53] After being behind on the judges' scorecards and visibly hurt multiple times, Lewis won the fight via knockout in the closing seconds of the third round.
He lost the fight by rear-naked choke in the second round, marking the first submission loss of his professional MMA career.
[78] He lost the fight via TKO, just 55 seconds into the first round, however there was controversy as the stoppage by referee Dan Miragliotta was considered premature by fighters and fans alike.
[84] However, Lewis was forced to pull out of the event due to non-COVID, non-weight cutting illness and the bout was canceled.
[91] Lewis faced Jailton Almeida, replacing Curtis Blaydes, on November 4, 2023, at UFC Fight Night 231.
"[99] Lewis greatly prefers stand-up fighting, which he refers to as "swangin' and banging",[100] and has been noted by fans and commentators for his surprising ability to seemingly shrug off the grappling/wrestling offense of his opponents while in the bottom position, and simply 'stand up'.
[101] However, analysts have noted that when facing fighters with a background in folkstyle wrestling, such as Daniel Cormier, Lewis finds it more difficult to escape the bottom position.
Nonetheless, Lewis appeared to simply 'stand up' when threatened with a crucifix position by Roy Nelson, a fighter with a jiu-jitsu pedigree.
[104] On May 18, 2021, Lewis was returning to his car after a workout when he discovered a man allegedly trying to open the door of his vehicle.