Derrick Lewis spoke to the media after recording his sixth successive win, beating Travis Browne at UFC Fight Night 105 which took place at the Scotiabank Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia last night.
After a slow start to the fight which saw Lewis (18-4-1) get hurt to the body on a number of occasions in the opening round, the man dubbed “The Black Beast” rallied back to deliver another devastating KO at the 03:12 mark of round two.
Derrick Lewis speaks to the media after UFC Halifax
In the immediate aftermath of the heavyweight clash, many felt that referee Mario Yamasaki’s intervention was a late one resulting in Browne (18-6-1) eating multiple unanswered punches after being dropped by Lewis.
Despite the timing of stoppage being criticised by some and Yamasaki once again coming under the microscope, in the post-fight press conference, Lewis was non-fussed and would seemingly thank the embattled referee for the late stoppage as a result of previous allegations of domestic violence levelled against Browne. The 34-year-old Hawaiian was not officially convicted.
“I appreciate it, I appreciated him [Yamasaki] letting the fight go a little longer than what it should. I just wanted to get my anger out on Travis’s face because he likes to hit on women. So I appreciate him for doing that.”
With this latest win, Lewis who moved to 9-2 since joining the WME-IMG owned promotion in April 2014 was realistic when discussing his immediate plans for the future and potential title ambitions.
“I gotta work on my overall game. The guys in the top five, they’re good everywhere. Me, I’m just almost one-dimensional. I believe I’ve got the most heart in this division. it carries me the whole way through this six-fight win streak. The heart, that beast mode kicks in, and thank god for that.”
UFC Fight Night 105 Post-fight Press Conference
