Derrick Lewis reveals he fought Jailton Almeida with two torn shoulders: “I just didn’t have any strength”

Derrick Lewis revealed he entered his last fight against Jailton Almedia with a serious injury.

Lewis stepped up to headline UFC Sao Paulo against Almeida and he lost a lackluster decision. Almedia was able to take him down at will as he scored six takedowns and controlled the fight for over 21 minutes on the ground.

Now, heading into his UFC main event fight against Rodrigo Nascimento at UFC St. Louis, Lewis revealed he tore both his shoulders going into his last fight. Due to the injuries, he didn’t have the strength to get off his back which made the fight frustrating for him.

“The only thing that was bothering me was I tore both my shoulders. Like after I signed I said, ‘Yeah, I’ll accept the fight.’ Then a few days later I tore both my shoulders doing stupid jiu-jitsu drills. My rotator cuffs on both sides. So I couldn’t really push off or throw a punch. Then even throwing an uppercut hurt it,” Lewis said at UFC St. Louis media day.

“Then the week of the fight, that Monday. I had two ear infections in my left ear and my right ear at the same time and I didn’t get over that until like three weeks after the fight. It was a bad performance, but I was feeling great. I was feeling great. I was surprised with myself that we even went five rounds. I was comfortable in there, but I just didn’t have any strength in my shoulders,” Lewis continued.

Due to Lewis dealing with those injuries, he lost the fight by decision in lackluster fashion. But, he says he is healthy going into this fight against Nascimento and has vowed to do something special.

Derrick Lewis enters his UFC St. Louis main event being 1-4 in his last five fights and ranked 12th at heavyweight.