LAS VEGAS – Greg Hardy won’t soon forget how Derrick Lewis came at him when he was a UFC newcomer – and he plans on making “The Black Beast” pay.
At a UFC 264 pre-fight news conference held Wednesday, Hardy (7-3 MMA, 4-3 UFC) expressed his disdain for Lewis (25-7 MMA, 16-5 UFC) when he refused to pick him to win the Aug. 7 interim heavyweight title fight at UFC 265. Why is Hardy backing Ciryl Gane instead? Because Lewis is “fat” and “talks too much trash” about him.
“I’m going with Ciryl, bro,” Hardy told MMA Junkie and other reporters. “I can’t support fat. I can’t do it. He’s gelatinous. He’s lazy. I can’t root for him. He’s a great fighter but I refuse to do it. Plus, he talks too much trash about me.”
The grudge seemingly stems from 2018 comments made by Lewis in which “The Black Beast” said he’d enjoy fighting Hardy due to his history with alleged domestic violence.
“He ran his mouth,” Hardy said. “Say my name and I’m coming for you. The boss is going to send me. That’s a guy that wasn’t mentioned but decided to grace his fat, Popeyes, greasy chicken lips with my name when I was a peasant, when I was a young child. What it would look like for me to go attack somebody that just came off the Contender Series right now? You’d be like, ‘Oh, he’s childish.’ But you guys let that man gyrate and beat little me? Nah, he needs to be handled.”
Admittedly, Hardy thinks Lewis is the better fighter at this point in time. But at some point down the line, he sees that changing – and promise to make Lewis pay when that time comes.
“He’s an ex-con that doesn’t know when to shut up. I’m going to put him down when I need to. Of course, timing is everything. I’m still not there yet. I’m willing to admit he’s the better man right now, but he’s still a fatty.”
Hardy repeatedly zoned in on Lewis’s attitude toward MMA. In Hardy’s eyes, Lewis’s social media and demeanor toward fighting indicates he isn’t taking things seriously.
“He’s out there videotaping guys robbing his minivan,” Hardy said. “He’s not even at work. What’s he doing? Come on, man. That guy, he’s the kind of guy who waits until the third round, plays possum, and then throws a bunch of haymakers, bro. That’s MMA to you? He even told you guys. He looked in all of y’all’s faces and said, ‘I don’t really want to do this. I’m not going to learn wrestling.’ You remember that, right? What if I said that? That’s all I’m saying.”
UFC 264 takes place Saturday at T-Mobile Arena. The main card streams on ESPN+ pay-per-view after prelims on MMA Junkie.
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