UFC's Derrick Lewis aids Hurricane Harvey victims, including Confederate flag supporter

Andreas Hale
Derrick Lewis took time out of his training to help victims of Hurricane Harvey. (Getty)
Derrick Lewis took time out of his training to help victims of Hurricane Harvey. (Getty)

Derrick Lewis is mostly known for his knockout power and unique sense of humor, but the UFC heavyweight also has a huge heart.

Although he’s in preparation for his UFC 216 showdown with Fabricio Werdum, the 32 year old took time out to lend a helping hand to those in need during the devastating hurricane that is barreling through Texas.

The fighter, who resides in Texas, posted a few videos of him helping in the midst of Hurricane Harvey wreaking havoc throughout Houston, Texas.

In the posts, Lewis can be seen assisting with getting people out of flooded homes. People can be heard off camera thanking Lewis for his help.

He took time out of his rescue mission to briefly speak with The MMA Hour’s Ariel Helwani.

“My family is good, my neighborhood is dry, I mean, it’s raining but there is no flood or anything like that,” Lewis said. “But outside of my neighborhood, everyone is going through a tough time, right now, I’m waiting for an elderly couple to get on the back of my truck as we speak.”

Lewis has been in the streets of Houston for the past two days helping people get through the trying time and can’t count how many people he’s helped in total. But one might stick out above the rest.

“I picked up one guy and his family, his wife – he just kept apologizing to me, because all he really had was his clothes, and he wanted to take his Confederate flag,” Lewis said to MMA Junkie. “He wanted to take that with him, and he just apologized and said, ‘Man, I’ll sit in the back of your truck, man. I don’t want to have my flag inside of your truck like this.’ I said, ‘Man, I’m not worried about that.’”

The divisive symbol that has caused a stir wasn’t of Lewis’ concern. Instead, “The Black Beast” only wanted to get the man to safety.

“I don’t care about that,” Lewis said. “I live in Texas. It ain’t nothing new. I’ve been living in the South all my life, and it ain’t nothing I hadn’t seen before or discussed about. I don’t care about that type of stuff. I just wanted to help him.”

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