UFC fan favorite Derrick Lewis blamed Bruce Buffer for a sluggish start to his debut.
UFC all-time knockout leader Derrick Lewis‘s first appearance in the Octagon featured one of his signature post-fight interview moments, but not in the way most expect.
Lewis faced 6’8″ behemoth Jack May in his highly anticipated UFC debut in April 2014 in Orlando. After nine wins to begin his professional MMA career, Lewis finally got the call to make his first walk to the UFC Octagon, and made the most of his opportunity.
But Lewis had to overcome a lot of adversity in the opening minutes against May.
Derrick Lewis’s first UFC post-fight interview was as hilarious as you’d expect
Lewis wasted no time in bull-rushing May with a big takedown in the opening seconds of the fight. But May was able to work out of it well and landed some big bombs on Lewis on the ground.
After regaining top position in the opening minute, Lewis poured it on, landing a series of devastating ground-and-pound strikes as May covered up. Lewis went on to win in the closing seconds of the first round by TKO for what would be his first of many UFC KO victories.
In addition to his ridiculous knockout power, Lewis is known to have some quotable moments in his post-fight interviews. His first post-fight chat with Joe Rogan didn’t disappoint.
“[Bruce] lulled me to sleep! So I had to wake up!” Lewis said. “First time meeting Bruce Buffer!”
Luckily, Lewis hasn’t been lulled to sleep by Buffer since his UFC debut. He’s become one of the UFC’s biggest stars and sits atop the promotion’s all-time knockout list.
Derrick Lewis will face UFC’s tallest fighter for Octagon return
Lewis will face another giant for his upcoming Octagon return later this year. As first reported by journalist Laerte Viana, Lewis will face 6’7″ Tallison Teixeira at a July 12th event targeted for Nashville, Tennessee.
Lewis was supposed to return at UFC Edmonton just months ago before withdrawing on hours’ notice due to an illness. His originally scheduled opponent, Jhonata Diniz, was later rewarded with a booking at UFC 309.
As of this writing, Teixeira is the tallest fighter on the UFC roster, but stands an inch taller than Lewis’s UFC debut opponent from 2014. Teixeira is unbeaten in his career with five consecutive first-round knockout victories.
Lewis hasn’t fought since extending his KO record against Rodrigo Nascimento at UFC St. Louis last year. He’s looking to get back into the heavyweight title mix after a recent losing skid.
