Derrick Lewis reveals that Glory champ Rico Verhoeven turned down a fight at UFC 324, leaving Lewis to face Waldo Cortes-Acosta instead.
Derrick Lewis, known as "The Black Beast," has been eagerly awaiting a fight since July, but it wasn't until recently that he learned his opponent for UFC 324 would be Waldo Cortes-Acosta. According to Lewis, the UFC had initially planned for him to face Glory kickboxing heavyweight champion Rico Verhoeven, but Verhoeven declined the offer.
Verhoeven, a legendary kickboxer with an impressive 13 successful title defenses, announced his retirement from Glory in November. Since then, there have been rumors of Verhoeven engaging in high-profile boxing or MMA fights, but none have materialized yet.
Lewis, who is on a two-fight winning streak with 16 UFC knockouts, expressed his frustration with the delay. He was initially hoping for a quick fight, but the UFC kept promising something bigger, which never materialized. Lewis's focus shifted to a potential rematch with Sergei Pavlovich, who knocked him out at UFC 277, but Pavlovich also declined.
Despite the setbacks, Lewis is determined to continue his winning streak. He will face "Salsa Boy" on January 24 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, aiming to extend his record to 17 knockouts.
Other news in the MMA world includes Jake Paul's admission of a mistake in his fight against Anthony Joshua, Matt Brown's criticism of Jake Paul's performance, Luke Rockhold's comments on Andrew Tate's fight, and updates on various fights and withdrawals, including Rinat Fakhretdinov's departure from the UFC and Dakota Ditcheva's injury in the PFL Dubai.
