Derrick Lewis finishes Curtis Blaydes in the UFC Vegas 19 main event with one of the worst capital letters in the history of the promotion. But he also landed a few extra blows afterwards.
Blaydes was already unaware of the initial impact of the fistfight when Lewis plugged a removal attempt with his fist. But the fight was not over yet – Lewis jumped two more strokes before referee Herb Dean was able to pick up the fight with the end at the 1:26 mark of the second round.
Afterwards, Lewis shouted at the corner from Blaydes, but it appears that the verbal exchange had nothing to do with any form of bad feelings or personal resentment settled in the cage.
“Because his coaches talked around his corner, ‘It was stupid. “I said it’s not my fault, it’s Herb Dean’s fault,” Lewis told the press conference after the UFC Vegas 19 fight.
‘I will keep fighting until the referee chases you out of the bag. It’s with anyone. The same thing can happen to me. I’m just going to keep fighting until the referee says stop. ”
Although there is a long list of highlights that offer the one-time knockout, Lewis promises that it’s never going to be him, because he’s just not built that way.
His argument comes from the instructions issued to the athletes before the event, where they are told to keep fighting until the referee tells them to stop. Lewis said that is what he is always going to do, even if it seems that his opponent is clearly not coming back.
“I can not just turn off the switch,” Lewis said. ‘I know some fighters can do it, but I can not do it. I have to wait until the referee takes you away from them, because you never know what’s going to happen. Anything can happen.
‘He can become’ Undertaker ‘and sit up straight and eat all the shots. You never know. You have to keep going until the referee says chill out. ”
Lewis also finished with the most knockouts in UFC history, along with former champion Vitor Belfort, with 12 overall.
Entering the record books was the least of his worries when the fight started, as Lewis explained that he felt sluggish during the opening round and that he was struggling to get going.
“I could not really wake up there,” Lewis said. ‘Like the whole time behind, to the octagon, the first and second rounds, my body could not just wake up. I do not know why. I just did not have it today, the energy I needed to have. I wanted to be more explosive in the first place, but I couldn’t just pull the trigger.
“But all I was waiting for was just that he had to shoot. I cared about nothing else. I was just waiting for him to shoot. Cast the head cut or knee. We knew it was coming. ”
Prior to the removal attempt that led to the knockout blow, Lewis saw Blaydes begin to find more confidence in his strike, and it fueled his desire for the endgame just as much more.
“At the end of the first round, I’m like, ‘He’s spilling,'” Lewis said. “I said that in my head. His coach tried to pump his head up – ‘Okay, you’re doing well’ – and I’m like good, keep playing that game. This is what I said to myself.
“Then came the second round and I think he’s going to get up a little bit, then he’s going to try to shoot. I just had to be patient. ”
The game plan worked perfectly because Lewis was just waiting for Blaydes to finally move, and then he threw the bomb that ended the fight.
“This is what we drilled all month,” Lewis said of his capital letter. “Actually really twelve weeks to be prepared for this guy.”
This, of course, paid off when Lewis built his winning streak to four overall as he added Blaydes to the long list of fighters who made the mistake of testing the power of ‘The Black Beast’.