Daniel Cormier knows he isn’t just ‘going to hang my chin out’ for Derrick Lewis to connect

At UFC 230, Daniel Cormier will defend his heavyweight belt for the very first time against Derrick Lewis. Lewis is coming off of a knockout win against Alexander Volkov at UFC 229. ‘The Black Beast’ took a beating against Volkov but is promising he is healthy ahead of his title fight against Cormier.

Following his win, Lewis said ‘his balls was hot’ which made him gain hundreds of thousands of followers on Instagram. With his star as bright as it will ever be, the UFC pounced on the opportunity and booked Lewis vs. Cormier to headline the Madison Square Garden card on November 3.

Now, with the fight just weeks away, Cormier is the heavy favorite against Lewis. Cormier has better cardio than Lewis and can get the fight on the ground if he desires. However, Lewis has most of his wins by knockout by his powerful right hand. The way the odds are, it is believed that the only way Lewis wins is by knockout and Cormier knows that.

“It was very impressive but not unexpected because I respect what he’s had to accomplish to get to where he is today. But, again, I won’t let him off the hook,” said Cormier at a UFC 230 media event. “There’s no Hail Mary’s when you’re fighting someone like me. He’s going to have to set up that strike more than he’s ever had to set up that strike in his career. I’m not just going to hang my chin out there for him to hit.”

While many don’t believe Lewis deserves the title shot despite him being 9-1 in his last 10 fights at heavyweight. Ultimately, Lewis is a hot name right now and he has shown he can beat the best in the division, but fans were hoping for a Stipe Miocic rematch.

“I didn’t [watch his interview], I just got some tweets saying that he thought he can get me because I’m not taking him serious,” Cormier added. “That’s one mistake we don’t make at the American Kickboxing Academy. Everybody is worthy. And where’s the idea that this guy doesn’t deserve a title shot? This guy’s ranked No. 2 in the world. He just beat the No. 1 and 2-ranked guys in his last two fights within, what? Three months? He’s won nine of his last 10 fights.

“This guy deserves to be in this position. But, sometimes success leads to an obstacle that may be a little too big to conquer. And I think this is the one that he’s going to struggle with.”

Who do you think will win the fight between Cormier and Lewis?

This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 10/19/2018