Derrick Lewis lists three potential opponents for his next UFC fight

UFC heavyweight contender Derrick Lewis is interested in fighting either Curtis Blaydes, Francis Ngannou, or Alistair Overeem in his next fight.

Lewis picked up a stunning second-round TKO win over Aleksei Oleinik in the main event of UFC on ESPN+ 32 on Saturday night in Las Vegas. After struggling in the first round and nearly getting tapped out with a submission by Oleinik, Lewis stormed out of the gates early in the second round. “The Black Beast” was able to knock Oleinik down and then pound him out for his third straight win in the UFC heavyweight division.

Following the event, Lewis spoke to the media at the post-fight press conference. When asked about who he wants to fight next, the No. 4 ranked heavyweight didn’t hold back.

“Curtis Blaydes makes sense. Ngannou makes sense. Overeem makes sense. That’s just about it. We’ll just see what happens next week and see who else makes sense after that match (Stipe Miocic vs. Daniel Cormier 3),” Lewis said.

The UFC heavyweight title is up for grabs next weekend at UFC 252 as Miocic and Cormier battle it out for the third and final time. Ngannou is the next man in line to fight for the belt after that, so Lewis probably won’t get the rematch he wants with Ngannou anytime soon. That leaves Blaydes and Overeem as better targets for Lewis’ next match. Both men are coming off of recent wins, with Blaydes winning a decision over Alexander Volkov in June and Overeem coming off of a knockout win over Walt Harris in May.

Blaydes is the No. 3 ranked heavyweight, so he makes logical sense for Lewis at No. 4. As for Overeem, he’s ranked lower down at No. 7. But everyone knows Overeem is one of the best heavyweights the sport has ever seen and everyone knows how dangerous of an opponent he is. Overeem recently said that Lewis would be an “easy payday” for him, so let’s see what the UFC matchmakers choose to do. Regardless of who Lewis is matched up with next, don’t expect a boring fight. With Lewis, every fight is entertaining win or lose.

Who do you want to see Derrick Lewis fight next?