Derrick Lewis hopes to see Francis Ngannou in UFC title fight, down for Ciryl Gane to keep busy
Derrick Lewis has no desire to sit on the sidelines while the UFC heavyweight title picture comes into focus.
Lewis (25-7 MMA, 16-5 UFC), No. 3 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie heavyweight rankings, recently put himself near the front of the title queue when he scored a “Knockout of the Year” contender over Curtis Blaydes at UFC Fight Night 185.
Under normal circumstances, Lewis would be fighting for the belt next. However, with current champion Stipe Miocic set to rematch Francis Ngannou on March 27 at UFC 260, and Jon Jones expected to challenge the winner of that fight, “The Black Beast” could be looking at a long break if he was to hold out for a title shot.
That’s not part of Lewis’ plan, though. He has one fight remaining on his UFC contract and, once he’s able to finalize an extension, told UFC commentator Joe Rogan on “The Joe Rogan Experience” podcast that he wants to get right back to work.
“For me, I want to stay active,” Lewis told Rogan. “I don’t want to be waiting around to fight anyone, because I’m not young like I used to (be). So I don’t want to wait around and fight for the title or wait around to fight a certain opponent. I want to fight anyone who is ready.
“I know my window of time is closing to make money. I don’t have that much time left to make money, so I don’t want to just sit around.”
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As the most active heavyweight on the UFC roster over the past half decade, Lewis, 36, already has shared the octagon with almost every top name in the weight class. The list of logical options is limited, but Ciryl Gane is a fresh contender who has yet to be paired up with Lewis.
Gane (8-0 MMA, 5-0 UFC) is coming off a main event win over Jairzinho Rozenstruik in February, and despite it being an uneventful fight, the unanimous decision put him in the upper tier of the division. If the UFC wants to keep giving him steps up, Lewis said he would happily oblige by putting his spot on the line.
“It all depends,” Lewis said. “I don’t know how the UFC wants to build up that Ciryl Gane guy or if they want to get him in there in the mix right away.
“I started getting tagged in the fight (clips on social media), because they said (Gane vs. Rozenstruik) still wasn’t worse than me and Francis. I’m like, ‘Damn. OK. Sh*t.'”
If Lewis was to fight Gane and win, there would seemingly be no other option than to fight for the UFC belt. His first title shot against Daniel Cormier in November 2018 didn’t go his way, but Lewis said he’s healthier and a better fighter at this stage of his career.
Should a second championship opportunity materialize, Lewis said he hopes Ngannou (15-3 MMA, 10-2 UFC) is the man holding the strap. The pair had an all-time dull affair in July 2018, with Lewis taking a unanimous decision simply by doing a touch more than nothing.
Lewis said he wants to right that wrong with Ngannou in a rematch before his career is over, and if he could do it with a belt on the line, that would only sweeten the pot.
“Yes for sure (we need a rematch),” Lewis said. “I’ve got to get that one (again). Yeah (I would like him next).”
