The UFC is set to return to Sao Paulo with UFC Fight Night:Almeida vs Lewis. It is scheduled to be held on November 4, 2023, in Ginásio do Ibirapuera, Sao Paulo, Brazil. The main event will feature Derrick Lewis against Jailton Almeida in a heavyweight clash.
The 38-year-old heavyweight Lewis has a professional MMA record of 27-11-1 (NC) and currently holds the record for most knockouts in UFC history. Nevertheless, ‘The Black Beast’ has had his fair share of losses in his MMA career so far and we will take a look at all of his UFC losses.
His most recent loss stands against Sergey Spivak who defeated him via submission at the UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Spivak in 2023. Before that the American fighter faced three losses back-to-back. He lost to Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 277, to Tai Tuivasa via KO at UFC 271 and in 2021 he lost against Ciryl Gane via TKO at UFC 265.
In the year 2019, he tasted a loss against Junior dos Santos at UFC Fight Night and also lost at UFC 230 in 2018 against Daniel Cormier. In 2017, Lewis fought the New Zealand fighter Mark Hunt and faced defeat via TKO. During his initial years in the UFC, he lost to Shawn Jordan via TKO in 2015 and to Matt Mitrione via KO at UFC Fight Night 50 in 2014.
His losing streak was such that many speculated about him leaving the UFC but nobody knew what awaited Lewis’s future. He scored a first round knockout victory in his fight against Marcos Rogerio De Lama at UFC 291 which helped him get a new UFC contract.
However, before having his first match of the new contract, ‘The Black Beast’ was arrested making headlines.
Why was Derrick Lewis arrested?
Derrick Lewis’s recent arrested came days before his scheduled fight against Jailton Almeida. According to ABC 13, the 38-year-old fighter was arrested for reckless driving at 136 mph in a 50 mph zone in Houston.
‘The Black Beast’ during a recent UFC pre-fight media day expressed his take on the charges and denied by saying that it wasn’t him. He said,
“Nah, I don’t even think that was me. That guy had hair. You seen the picture? I don’t got no hair. That ain’t me.” (4:58 to 5:07)
However, MMA journalist Marc Raimondi recently took to Twitter and revealed about Lewis’s court appearance. Raimondi stated that he is expected to appear in court on December 27, 2023. He wrote,
“The next court date for Derrick Lewis is Dec. 27 following his reckless driving arrest. The maximum sentence if convicted is 30 days in jail and a $200 fine. But most of these cases result in the defendant just going to a driver’s safety course, per the Harris County DA’s office.”
Amidst everything that is happening around Lewis, it will be interesting to see his octagon skills in the fight this weekend. The MMA community is awaiting another action-packed UFC Fight Night, and we can just hope that the fighters can do justice to it.
