Derrick ‘The Black Beast’ Lewis lived up to his reputation as the UFC’s most consummate KO artist with an explosive first-round win over Chris Daukaus before claiming his celebration was in honor of Rodney King.
Lewis unloaded a barrage of shots on Daukaus from close range after backing him up against the fence, eventually collapsing his rival to the canvas at the 3:36 mark of the fist round of their heavyweight main event at the UFC Apex.
The finish was Lewis’ 13th KO/TKO victory in the UFC, moving him into outright first position in the promotion’s all-time list.
Well that took a while for Derrick Lewis pic.twitter.com/5gkifwJczN
— Tingz n Wingz (@TingznWingz) December 19, 2021
The 36-year-old Houston fan favorite celebrated as only he knows how, pounding his chest before dropping to his knees and making a menacing cut-throat gesture and then performing a dance.
In bizarre scenes, Lewis later tossed his cup into the crowd, where it was quickly collected by one happy customer for sweaty posterity.
Derrick Lewis really showed up, got a 1st round KO, and threw his cup into the crowd????????????pic.twitter.com/8F28Vw0ubK
— Covers (@Covers) December 19, 2021
This dude really picked up Derrick Lewis' cup and kept it. pic.twitter.com/cNNZTZyn3E
— caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) December 19, 2021
The former heavyweight title challenger, who moved back into the win column after his August defeat against Ciryl Gane, later told the media that his celebrations had been in honor of Rodney King – the man whose treatment at the hands of the LAPD triggered race rioting in 1992.
“That was for Rodney King. I’m fighting a police officer, man. Come on, that’s the only time you get a chance to punch a police officer in the mouth and get away with it,” said Lewis, apparently tongue-in-cheek.
Beaten rival Daukaus recently quit his job as a Philadelphia police officer to focus full-time on his MMA career, having racked up four UFC wins on the spin before his momentum came shuddering to a halt against Lewis.
Lewis had similarly referenced King in the build-up to the fight, saying: “[Daukaus] has got to be a good guy because he is a police officer. I support the police department all over the world, especially in Houston.
“I appreciate most of you all for letting me slide with speeding ticket here and that’s why I appreciate you all, back the blue all day long.
“Whenever you fighting a police officer you don’t wanna get Rodney King’d on ESPN, so you’ve got to go out there and fight hard man. Do it for the people,” Lewis had said with a smile.
DERRICK LEWIS DOES IT! HE STANDS ALONE AS THE UFC'S KO KING. ???? pic.twitter.com/5kd6ZPdSHg
— Mike Bohn (@MikeBohnMMA) December 19, 2021
Speaking on fighting matters after his headline win on Saturday night, Lewis said he was down for whatever the UFC put in front of him – on condition that it was only three rounds.
“I would love to get a title fight, for sure,” Lewis joked. “If they could change that rule, make it three rounds for a title shot, hit me up. If not, don’t call my phone. F*ck all that.”
Derrick Lewis is down for a title shot but only if it's a 3 round fight! LOL! ????#UFCVegas45 pic.twitter.com/Kx5KL2om5y
— Chamatkar Sandhu (@SandhuMMA) December 19, 2021
Lewis now stands at 26-8 overall in his career while Daukaus, 32, slipped to 12-4.
