Derrick Lewis says Josh Hokit’s antics at the UFC White House press conference did not bother him and his motivation for Sunday’s fight is to avoid making President Trump look bad.
Lewis spoke ahead of his UFC Freedom 250 bout with Hokit, which was added to the card at Trump’s personal request.
I really don’t care. I believe that guys do stuff like that just because it ain’t nothing else we can go after. Because he don’t know me and I don’t know him. So, I believe that he just says and does things like that just to get under someone’s skin that he don’t know. We’re about to go fist to ass in a few weeks, so it’s like, you’ve got to try to find some type of motivation. I don’t care about all the shit-talking. I’ve been doing this long enough to know that guys can say whatever.
Lewis said his performance is motivated by something bigger than the fight itself.
I don’t want to make the President look bad. I want to go out there and perform. Show everybody the reason why I’m one of his favorite fighters.
Coming off a TKO loss to Waldo Cortes-Acosta in January, Lewis said he is in the best shape of his career. He also confirmed his iconic post-fight celebration will be scaled back for the occasion.
I’m going to be more professional, so I’m just going to throw my cup in the audience. No pants.
Lewis holds the UFC record for most knockouts in history with 16.
