Daniel Cormier isn’t ready to write off Derrick Lewis if he’s not fighting the upper echelon of the UFC heavyweight division.
Lewis (26-10 MMA, 17-8 UFC) meets Serghei Spivac (15-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC) in Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 218 headliner at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The card streams on ESPN+.
Lewis, the UFC record holder for most knockout wins, will look to snap a two-fight losing skid, and Cormier sees him being successful against No. 12-ranked heavyweight Spivac.
“I don’t know if Spivac is the guy,” Cormier said on his ESPN show “DC & RC.” “I’m trying not to insult Serghei Spivac, because I like the kid. I think he’s a nice guy. I think he’s a good fighter. … He’s still losing to the guys that are ranked very highly, and I just don’t know if Serghei is quite at that level.
“So, I’m gonna tap in that Derrick Lewis wins the fight. I think he’s gonna knock him out, but I do believe that – I think Derrick’s done at the top. I think Derrick’s absolutely done at the top of the division. I just don’t know if he still can’t knock out No. 10, 11, 12, 13, because I just don’t think those guys are as good as they are.”
Lewis’ three most recent losses came to former interim champion Ciryl Gane, Tai Tuivasa, and surging contender Sergei Pavlovich. Spivac, on the other hand, is currently riding some momentum with back-to-back TKO finishes of Greg Hardy and Augusto Sakai.
At Wednesday’s UFC Fight Night 218 media day, Lewis responded to the “bullsh*t” comments from Cormier.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 218.
