Houston Sports - Derrick Lewis

Derrick Lewis

Born: February 7, 1985

Sport: Mixed Martial Arts (29-13-0 professional record, 16 UFC KO/TKO wins, currently holds heavyweight records for finishes and knockouts)

As the United States prepares to celebrate its 250th birthday next month, there are numerous ways that people are choosing to mark the occasion.  One of the more interesting spectacles that has been planned is a UFC event on the White House lawn, billed as Freedom 250 which will take place one week from today.  When the fight card was originally announced, according to UFC's CEO Dana White, President Donald Trump asked why Derrick Lewis wasn't included.  So the boss made a few calls and added a fight that included Houston's most famous and successful MMA fighter, lining up the seasoned veteran against one of the sport's rising heavyweight stars, Josh Hokit.  When "no holds barred" cage matches began being held years ago, I didn't really understand the styles of fighting that took place or pay much attention to the events.  As I began my own martial arts journey six years ago, however, the octagon's appeal has grown.  And so I want to take the opportunity to look at the story of a local man who trains just three blocks from where I park to go to work at a gym that I pass every time I'm downtown.

Downtown Houston, where Lewis frequently trains to this day

As the second oldest of seven siblings, Derrick Lewis was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana, by his mother, Wilma Lewis.  While he was a teenager, Wilma made the decision to relocate the family to escape an abusive situation with Derrick's stepfather, sacrificing the life she knew to create a better opportunity for all of her children.  Years later, the fighter would regularly dedicate wins to his mother, stating that the pain of watching her suffer when she wasn't strong enough to defend herself continued to motivate him before every match.  In 1998, Lewis arrived in the city he would adopt as his forever home, and soon attended Cypress Springs High School on the northwest side of town.  His youth was troubled, however, and he frequently found himself engaging in street fights wherever he lived.  After playing high school football well enough to be offered a scholarship to play at Kilgore College and finding a gym where he could let off some steam in a constructive manner, things appeared to be heading in the right direction.  But the gym closed unexpectedly and just two weeks after graduating, Lewis was arrested for beating up the ex-husband of a woman with whom he had become romantically involved.  The fact that the man had shown up in Lewis' neighborhood with a shotgun didn't matter in the verdict, although it may have kept the sentencing a bit lighter than it could've been as he was found guilty and given a two year probation.  Upon starting classes at Navarro College, however, Lewis lacked the transportation to attend court-ordered classes or money to pay the associated fees, so he was in violation of the terms of his probation and he suddenly found himself in a prison unit in Sugar Land, TX.

While spending over three years in the Central Unit on the outskirts of Houston, Derrick Lewis had plenty of opportunities to consider his future and started to plan for an eventual career in fighting.  Upon being released, he began working as a tow-truck driver for AAA while training to become a boxer.  Houston boxing legend George Foreman caught wind of his story and skill, and got involved in Lewis' life.  Initially helping to provide a car and trying to set up the young man with a place to live, Foreman's hope of developing a great boxer was never realized as Lewis found himself drawn more to the MMA style of fighting.  After winning his first fight in dominant fashion, Lewis told Foreman that he was choosing the cage over the ring and relinquished the Buick he'd been given.  By 2010, although he had gone pro after a brief amateur career, the aspiring fighter once again found himself in need of finding a ride in order to compete.  Lewis competed for Bellator and Legacy, earning and defending his first title belt along the way, before finally reaching the highest level of mixed martial arts by signing on with Ultimate Fighting Championship in 2013.

As a heavyweight fighter in a sport where both power and skill are required for success, Derrick Lewis proved to be one of the most capable finishers in the world.  In his first 15 UFC matches he managed a 12-3 record, including being recognized five times for having Performance of the Night, even once during a loss.  After that particular fight, a 2017 match against Mark Hunt that Lewis lost late in the fourth round, the fighter that had earned the nickname "The Black Beast" announced he would likely retire.  One week afterwards, Lewis married longtime girlfriend April Davis who had stuck by his side since before his fighting career began.  Derrick and April are extremely close and have three children together, although Lewis insists on keeping his family as far removed from the public eye as possible.  When Hurricane Harvey devastated Houston later in 2017, Lewis actively assisted in flood rescues and reportedly transported over 100 people to safety in his lifted pickup truck.  He eventually chose to continue fighting and reached his peak UFC ranking of #2 prior to a 2021 fight in Houston against Ciryl Gane, but lost in front of his home crowd.  He didn't wait long to rebound, however, and his victory over Chris Daukaus on December 18, 2021, gave Lewis the all-time record for knockout wins in the heavyweight division.  In addition, he also holds records for finishes and winning next week would be his 30th career professional victory place him just one win shy of the all-time record for heavyweight fighters in UFC history.  Now in his 40s, it remains to be seen just how much of himself Lewis can force into the record books before he calls it a career.

Note: Any trademarks or copyrights that may exist for entities referenced on this page are the property of their holders.  I claim no ownership and make no representation, nor do I receive any compensation for their use as this site is for entertainment and educational purposes only.  Special thanks to Google Earth, which makes historical aerial photography available.