UFC President Dana White isn’t close to even considering the possibility of Derrick Lewis being cut from the UFC roster.
Lewis shared the Octagon with Sergey Spivak in the main event of UFC Vegas 68. “The Black Beast” was submitted in the opening frame. This is Lewis’ third straight loss. He hasn’t earned a victory since late 2021. He’s also been stopped in all of his three straight defeats.
During the UFC Vegas 68 post-fight press conference, White weighed in on how he feels about Lewis following another loss (via MMAFighting.com)
“Listen, I have a lot of respect for Derrick Lewis,” UFC President Dana White told reporters at Saturday’s UFC Vegas 68 post-fight press conference. “I love the guy. And he got manhandled tonight. Spivac looked really good. He made a big statement tonight.”
As far as whether or not Lewis’ future with the UFC is in jeopardy, White made his answer clear.
“Not with me,” White said. “I love the guy. I love him, so he’s not going anywhere.”
Perhaps White’s positive stance on “The Black Beast” isn’t surprising to fans. When Lewis suffered a 55-second TKO loss to Sergei Pavlovich last year, White told reporters that he wasn’t a fan of the stoppage.
“I think it was too soon, but to be fair – I think Miragliotta’s a great ref – the way that he fell, probably nine out of the 10 people in this room would’ve jumped on him and stopped the fight, including me,” White told reporters, including MMA Junkie, at the UFC 277 post-fight news conference. “I like the ref, but I wouldn’t really debate that was an early stoppage. That was definitely an early stoppage.
