Athletes
A Different Derrick Lewis
Tenured Heavyweight Eyes Activity, Winning Streak Heading Into 2026
Officially, Derrick Lewis worked for 35 seconds in 2025, needing a little more than half-a-minute to dispatch Tallison Teixeira in his only appearance of the year.
“There is always that chance that it could happen like that, so that keeps me going,” the hulking heavyweight said following his participation in the UFC 324 press conference in Las Vegas. “What other job in the world can you make the amount of money I make for 15 minutes or 25 minutes of work?”
Lewis chuckled, the big man still always quick with a quip and seeking a way to downplay things. But while the point is unquestionably valid — who doesn’t want to make the most money possible in the least amount of time required? — it’s also only part of the equation for the UFC’s all-time leader in knockout victories.
For the longest time, Lewis was steadfast in his stance that his fighting career was strictly about commerce: putting money in the bank, providing for his family, and giving himself and his wife the opportunity to cultivate businesses that added to the household income.
When I’d ask him about records or the way he’s viewed by the promotion or the fans, he’d say those things had carried no real meaning to him. They were things that other people cared about and fixated on, but not him. Chasing the title wasn’t even a priority for him, and when he challenged for the interim title at home in Houston in the summer of 2021, it was more stressful than anything else for the surprisingly shy clown prince of the UFC.
However, when we sat down together earlier this month, I asked Lewis about reaching 30 career wins — he currently has 29 — and although his initial response felt like a typical deadpan quip, what followed showed that the tenured heavyweight is carrying a different outlook heading into 2026.
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“It is kind of important because I gotta get an even number; that’s huge for me right now,” began Lewis, who carries a 29-12 record with one no contest into his UFC 324 clash with Waldo Cortes Acosta on January 24.
“I want to go on a winning streak,” continued Lewis, who has earned consecutive victories heading into the new year. “Before I started going on this winning streak, I said, ‘I’m not losing no more.’ I put it in my mind already that none of these guys can mess with me.”
Full Fight | Derrick Lewis vs Rodrigo Nascimento
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Full Fight | Derrick Lewis vs Rodrigo Nascimento
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The first evidence of that shift in mindset came in the spring of 2024 in St. Louis, where “The Black Beast” snapped Rodrigo Nascimento’s 3-fight winning streak. It continued in July, where Lewis fought Teixeira in the main event of the UFC’s return to Nashville, which was the towering Brazilian’s second bout with the promotion.
Positioned as the underdog heading into the contest, Lewis got a knuckle in the eye in the opening seconds of the contest but stepped forward nonetheless, connecting with a left hook that put Teixeira on the canvas and led to his 16th knockout win inside the Octagon.
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So what changed?
“What changed is Wikipedia or LinkedIn told me I’m 40 now,” he muttered, chasing his words with a chuckle. “When they told me, I couldn’t believe it. I don’t feel it.
“When I was in my 20s and they told me, ‘Such-And-Such is 40,’ I was like, ‘Damn! They ‘bout to die; they old,’ but I feel completely different about 40 now.”
Although he’s armed with a new focus, one thing that hasn’t shifted is the way Lewis feels about being stationed opposite the ascending class in the heavyweight division, which includes Cortes Acosta.
MORE UFC 324: Hernandez Comfortable | Crucial Bantamweight Stretch | Johnson’s Hard Way | UFC 324’s Best Finishes | Charles Johnson’s Storm | Paddy Pimblett on UFC Unfiltered | No Slowing Cortes Acosta
The 34-year-old Dominican was one of the breakout fighters of the year, earning four wins in five starts, including a pair of punishing first-round stoppage wins in November that carried him to No. 5 in the rankings, three spots ahead of Lewis. “Salsa Boy” currently stands as one of the few ranked competitors that has yet to face most of the top names in the division.
Even though he’s positioned ahead of Lewis in the rankings, this still feels like the typical litmus test matchup that the 40-year-old brawler has taken part in repeatedly over the years. Having dispatched the last two hopefuls he faced in this situation, Lewis doesn’t see any reason that will change against Cortes Acosta.
Best Mic Moments | Derrick Lewis
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Best Mic Moments | Derrick Lewis
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“It’s not happening, so let them keep doing it,” he said of being positioned as the veteran measuring stick aspiring heavyweights need to beat. “I’ve said it before, but it needs to be investigated why I’m the underdog against these types of guys.”
As much as he joked about the significant hourly rate he earned for making quick work of Teixeira in July, the truth is that Lewis wants to fight far more frequently, which is why looking ahead to an appearance at the White House in June is too far down the road to be his next fight after dealing with Cortes Acosta at UFC 324.
“The White House card is in June,” he said, the tone of his voicing making it clear that the idea of staying on the sidelines until then was not something he was interested in doing. “I wanna fight sooner than that; March or April.”
Given his designs on building a winning streak and ambitions to fight three times before the summer gets fully underway, might we see Derrick Lewis fighting for championship gold at the end of the year?
“That’d be great!”
UFC 324: Gaethje vs Pimblett took place live from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on January 24, 2026. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!
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