UFC heavyweight Derrick Lewis reacts to Ted Cruz’s Cancun trip: “I actually took a selfie with him at the airport”

UFC heavyweight Derrick Lewis offered up a typically entertaining response when asked about Ted Cruz’s recent trip to Cancun.

While Lewis may be focusing on his huge fight against Curtis Blaydes this weekend, it’s also hard to ignore the ongoing power grid and weather issues in the state of Texas — where Lewis lives.

“The Black Beast” did reassure reporters during his pre-fight media interview that his family are safe, before also being questioned about the aforementioned Senator Cruz’s decision to venture off to Mexico in the midst of the crisis.

“Everything so far so good at the house has been good,” Lewis said during the UFC Vegas 19 media day on Thursday (via MMA Fighting). “The power has been off and on, but my family’s been safe still. We stayed in one room, because there’s no windows in the movie room, so we’ve all just been sleeping in there and making sure the heat stays on 80 just in case the power goes out again. Cause whenever it goes out, it stays off maybe 10 hours and we can still stay warm.

“Everyone at home is doing great,” Lewis continued. “Really no distractions or nothing like that. We’re going to make it through. Any city that’s been through more disasters in the last five years is Houston, so I’m pretty sure we’re going to make it through.”

“I actually took a selfie with [Cruz] at the airport,” Lewis joked. “I told him, ‘Hey, let me come with you.’ He said, ‘No, they’re already giving me hell, so I’m going to come back anyways, I’m going to make it seem like I’m just going to drop my daughter off out there and I’m going to come right back the next day.’ I said all right, that’s cool my bad, I’m not even going to post the picture then.

“He said, ‘I appreciate it ‘Black Beast,’ handle business this weekend.’ I said, ‘All right, cool.’”

All joking aside, Lewis has also reiterated that he does believe he has what it takes to beat Blaydes on Saturday night.

“What makes me dangerous is the power that I have my hands and my will to win. I don’t care who is my opponent, I believe I have the tools to put away any man,” Lewis said on the UFC preview for the fight. “I’m coming in, in one of the best shapes of my career, a lot quicker, more agile. This is my time now to really prove to these guys it’s not going to be easy whenever they see my name on that paper.”

“This fight right here is going to be very violent and very bloody. I feel I could break Curtis by the third round and that’s what’s going to happen,” Derrick Lewis said. “This is going to be a very intense battle, we both want the title shot right after this and I believe I could get the job done.”

Do you think Derrick Lewis will defeat Curtis Blaydes this weekend?