Derrick Lewis credits Francis Ngannou‘s move to PFL as a helpful negotiating tool for securing his current UFC contract, while expressing empathy for Ngannou’s recent personal loss and preparing for his upcoming fight against Jhonata Diniz.
Derrick Lewis once shared the octagon with Francis Ngannou at UFC 226 in July 2018. It was a fight they’d both rather forget, but interestingly, Ngannou unknowingly helped Lewis out years later.
Lewis is gearing up to face Jhonata Diniz at UFC Edmonton this Saturday. After his knockout win over Marcos Rogerio de Lima at UFC 291 in July 2023, Lewis renewed his contract with the promotion. Ngannou’s move to PFL and his negotiation for big paydays became a bargaining chip for Lewis.
“Francis played the role of helping me get this contract that I got right now,” Lewis revealed to MMA Fighting. He used Ngannou’s situation as leverage during negotiations, saying, “I could be over there getting that. It’s so weird.”
“So, you know, I ain’t gonna say too much,” he added, leaving some things unsaid.
In his latest fight, “The Black Beast” stopped Rodrigo Nascimento in the main event of UFC St. Louis in May. Originally set to face Alexandr Romanov, Lewis was redirected to Diniz for what promises to be a striking showdown.
With his new lucrative contract, Lewis aims to fight as often as he did before. Despite the allure of millions from facing Ngannou in PFL during a brief free agency period, he’s content with his current deal.
“Yes, because it was there, so now I’m here,” Lewis said about his decision. He insisted on frequent fights, telling them not to space out his matches. “Come on, give me them three or four fights that I wanted.”
Ngannou recently returned to MMA at PFL Battle of the Giants and knocked out Renan Ferreira in the first round. The victory came amidst personal tragedy—Ngannou’s 15-month-old son Kobe had passed away. As a father himself, Lewis empathized deeply with his former opponent.
“I heard, I read an article about what happened,” Lewis shared. He reflected on the tragedy of losing a child so young, noting how responsive they are at that age.
Though Lewis doesn’t watch much MMA outside of fighting, his coach showed him Ngannou’s impressive finish against Ferreira.
“Oh, it was good,” he commented on Ngannou’s performance. Despite hearing about the low pay-per-view buys—just 10,000—he acknowledged it was still good for Francis.