Derrick Lewis smelled a home cooking for UFC 247.
Lewis (23-7 MMA, 14-5 UFC) welcomed Ilir Latifi to the heavyweight division in the UFC 247 main card opener and won a controversial unanimous decision in his home city of Houston.
When he spoke to MMA Junkie pre-fight, Lewis jokingly predicted it, saying there would likely be controversy once the judges turned in their scorecards.
“It’ll probably almost be a draw,” Lewis said. “It’s going to be controversial … it’s going to be controversial that I probably should have lost, but they still (will) give me the win.”
After starting out strong, throwing an array of new kicking techniques, Lewis looked sharp and stuffed multiple takedown attempts from Latifi.
However, Latifi eventually got the fight to the canvas and got some solid control. It looked likely to be tied at one round a piece going into the third.
In Round 3, Latifi was able to take Lewis down again. But with the clock winding down, Lewis made his way back up to his feet, trying to rally back with a late surge of strikes. Those may have left a lasting impression on the judges and helped give him the fight.
Lewis was asked about how his prediction came true post-fight, and he chalked it down to Latifi’s fighting style.
“I started my career here, so Mike Jackson would tell you, ‘You know how we get down in Texas.’ I don’t know, man,” Lewis said. “I just know what type of fighter he was, that he was just going to hold me, lay on me and stuff like that.”
Still undefeated in Texas, Lewis has won back-to-back fights over Blagoy Ivanov and Ilir Latifi after a two-fight skid, including a loss to former champion Daniel Cormier in a title fight.
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