With Jon Jones officially out of the picture and the heavyweight title now undisputedly in the hands of Tom Aspinall, guess who’s raising his hand for a shot at gold? None other than “The Black Beast” himself — Derrick Lewis.
And honestly, why not?
Lewis (28-12 MMA, 19-10 UFC), the UFC’s all-time knockout king, says a fight with Aspinall is not only something he wants, it’s something he needs before his time in the Octagon is done (which is quickly approaching). Speaking ahead of his UFC on ESPN 70 main event against Tallison Teixeira in Nashville, Lewis made his case loud and clear.
“I stand up right there with him,” Lewis told MMA Junkie. “That’d be good to fight him before everything is said and done with. I have a couple fights left on my contract, and I would love to finish out my contract. That would be great if I can. It’d be good. Let him know I need to fight Tom Aspinall for the belt.”
The 40-year-old heavyweight isn’t just chasing a dream — he’s chasing redemption. Lewis has already had two cracks at UFC gold: a short-notice title bout against Daniel Cormier in 2018, and a quick turnaround fight against Ciryl Gane in 2021 for the interim belt. Neither went his way.
“I haven’t really fought for the belt,” Lewis said. “They tried to give me a title fight when it was Stipe (Miocic), and I wasn’t expecting the title fight because I had a knee injury, and I ended up fighting DC’s big ass on short notice, then they tried to give me an interim title fight with Gane. I haven’t really fought for the title with a proper buildup for a title fight, and that time to train and everything like that mentally.”
With Jon Jones now retired (maybe?) and Aspinall (15-3 MMA, 8-1 UFC) embracing the role of active, dominant champion, Lewis sees a golden opportunity — and one he believes suits his strengths far better than his previous matchups.
“I believe (Aspinall is a good matchup),” Lewis said. “(Knocking him out) is all I could do. What do you think I’m going to do, tap him out with a submission or something? I’m just looking to knock guys out. Every punch I’m throwing, I’m looking to knock their head off. I’m not trying to waste anything.”
Lewis is one of the few top-10 heavyweights who hasn’t faced Aspinall yet, and with the champ openly stating he wants to beat everyone with a ranking next to their name, the door could be wide open.
Aspinall wants contenders. Lewis wants a real title shot. Sounds like a perfect storm waiting to explode — heavyweight style.
Do I think Lewis wins that fight? No.
But, do I want that fight to happen so Lewis gets a shot before he retires? Yes.
