In the main event of UFC 230, Daniel Cormier earned the second-round submission over Derrick Lewis, with Lewis never really being able to implement enough offense or defense to prevent a Cormier domination. After coming up short in the bout, Derrick Lewis took the time to address reporters at the UFC 230 Post-Fight Press Conference. Of course Derrick Lewis did not come to Madison Square Garden expecting to lose, but he was not surprised by what his opponent did in the fight: (via MMA Fighting)
“He did what we thought he was going to do. He wrestled, point blank,” Lewis said. “I was feeling good in the second round, throwing, had good movement going, and he just went for the takedown.”
There was one aspect of the fight that did surprise Lewis, however, that being the chain wrestling and transitions of the reigning heavyweight champion, and one technique in particular:
“He did pretty good on that, I didn’t expect him to do that (single-leg takedowns),” Lewis explained. “I guess that’s part of the chain wrestling or something like that, they call it, so he did pretty good on that, caught me off guard.”
Many people, including ESPN’s Stephen A Smith, questioned whether or not Derrick Lewis was truly ready to jump right back into the Octagon, much less in the biggest fight of his career, after fighting Alexander Volkov only one month ago. Lewis echoed Dana White’s assurance that he was more than ready for the opportunity and offered no excuses:
“I was still in good shape,” Lewis said. “I’ve been wrestling and working on wrestling defense my whole career, so it was nothing new.”
But now, with two fights within a one-month span, Derrick Lewis is prepared to take a well-deserved vacation.
“Hopefully I don’t have to fight no more this year,” Lewis said. “[I want to] get some time off, they can hit me up before the summer next year.”
Did anything surprise you about the UFC 230 main event?
