Derrick Lewis explains Mark Hunt callout

This past weekend, streaking heavyweight contender Derrick Lewis picked up arguably the biggest win of his professional career when he defeated Travis Browne via 2nd round TKO after weathering an early storm from ‘Hapa’. In the wake of the fight, Lewis has been looking for a fight with heavyweight veteran Mark Hunt, who is currently gearing up for his UFC 209 scrap with Alistair Overeem this upcoming weekend.

During an interview with MMAJunkie, Lewis explained the Mark Hunt callout, saying:

“I just wanted one more tough fight before I get to the champ,” Lewis told MMAjunkie Radio on Wednesday. “I just want people to notice that I’ve got what it takes to be a champ. And I believe Mark Hunt is one of the toughest guys out there.”

Lewis of course is riding one of the most impressive win streaks in the heavyweight division, going 6-0 over the course of the past year and a half, which included a 4-0 streak over the course of 2016. After being TKOd by Shawn Jordan in 2015, Lewis bounced back by rattling off three straight KO/TKO wins, which included a 3rd round TKO of Viktor Pesta at UFC 192, before ‘The Black Beast’ then picked up back to back 1st round KO wins over Damian Grabowski and Gabriel Gonzaga. Lewis then faced a step up in competition when he fought Roy Nelson in July of 2016, where he picked up a lackluster split decision win before then picking up an impressive 4th round TKO win over Shamil Abdurakhimov. This set Lewis up for his most recent fight with Travis Browne.

Hunt on the other hand will be looking to return to the win column on March 4th when he fights Alistair Overeem after having a 2-fight win streak snapped by Brock Lesnar in a fight which was ultimately ruled a no contest after Lesnar failed a pair of USADA administered drug tests.

on 2/22/2017.