Derrick Lewis opponent 'can't eat properly' after flying knee from KO artist at UFC 291 damaged teet
Derrick Lewis recently got his MMA career back on track in style.
‘The Black Beast’ had suffered three consecutive stoppage defeats ahead of his fight with Marcos Rogério de Lima at UFC 291 in Salt Lake City last weekend.
Fans were questioning if a fourth straight loss would signal the end of his career, but many were convinced he could get back in the win column after they saw him on the scales pre-fight.
Lewis weighed in at 18.8 stone [263.5lbs] and appeared to be in the best shape he’s been in for a while as he was uncharacteristically seen sporting abs.
On fight night, the 38-year-old landed a flying knee Jorge Masvidal would’ve been proud of to drop de Lima in the opening seconds of their main card matchup.
Slow-motion footage showed his knee landed directly on de Lima’s chin, but the Brazilian somehow survived it and was only finished by the 30-second flurry of punches that followed.
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Lewis celebrated by taking his pants off, sharing another iconic interview with Joe Rogan, and imploring the UFC to extend his recently expired contract.
Several days later, he’s been linked to a PFL fight with Francis Ngannou and has even been touted as a potential opponent for Brendan Schaub who was invited to compete at Masvidal’s next show.
Meanwhile, de Lima is still feeling a bit worse for wear after his latest loss.
The 38-year-old has been the victim of trolling following UFC 291 and admits it's made dealing with being unable to eat because of the damage he took even harder to cope with.
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“It’s one thing when you lose while fighting,” de Lima told Super Lutas.
“The way it was, it was really painful. We do this thing where you feel out the other guy’s energy before you start fighting. I was feeling great. I felt like he was a little apprehensive.
“I started out like I always do. He rushed me and I thought he was going to throw a Superman punch. I raised my guard, and he threw the knee.
“I was kind of out when I fell down. It was a hard blow, and I couldn’t react.”
“Now, there’s a lot of people sending me messages, e-mails. I’ve never received that many messages. I lost one fight and instead of supporting me, people from my country, my fans, are bothering me.
“I took a hard knee. My teeth are all loose. I can’t eat properly. It’s a hard moment.
“Let’s support our fighters and motivate them.”
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