Derrick Lewis made a statement on Saturday night.
Lewis took on Curtis Blaydes in a pivotal heavyweight encounter in the UFC Vegas 19 headliner and delivered an emphatic uppercut knockout that made his foe stiff as a board.
As Blaydes collapsed to the ground, Lewis delivered an additional two punches to his unconscious body before Herb Dean finally stepped in and stopped the contest.
Lewis would also proceed to celebrate before doing a DX crotch chop in the direction of Blaydes while he was heard saying that it was Herb Dean’s fault.
Lewis: I Can’t Turn The Switch Off
So were things personal between the pair that Lewis needed to land those “super necessary” punches? Not at all.
Instead, “The Black Beast” was just taking extra precautions.
“I can’t just turn the switch off just like that,” Lewis said at the post-fight press conference. “I know some fighters can do that, but I can’t do it.
“I have to wait until the referee pulled me off because you never know what happens. Anything could happen. He could’ve turned into Undertaker and stood straight up and eat all those shots. You never know. You got to keep going until the referee says, ‘Chill out.’”
As for his comments about it being Dean’s fault?
That was in response to Blaydes’ corner as Lewis claimed it was the referee’s fault for not stopping the fight sooner.
“His coaches was talking about, ‘that was bullshit,'” Lewis added. “I was saying, ‘that’s not my fault, that’s Herb Dean’s fault.’ Keep fighting until the referee pulls you off. Same thing can happen to me.”
Regardless, Lewis is now on a four-fight winning streak and could possibly be in title contention again.
He would ideally like to face Stipe Miocic next as he stated in his post-fight interview, but he has no preference as to what his next fight will be.
You can watch his full post-fight press conference below:
