Lewis targets 17th UFC knockout to honour Trump at White House event

Derrick Lewis is channelling a sense of personal obligation heading into his UFC White House undercard fight against Josh Hokit, declaring he refuses to let President Donald Trump down after the bout was added to the card at Trump’s direct request.

The heavyweight clash is the final fight added to the UFC White House event, a booking driven by Trump’s well-documented admiration for Lewis. Despite that unusual backstory, it is Hokit who grabbed the pre-fight attention, with a series of outlandish outbursts at the event’s press conference. Lewis, a seasoned veteran, is unmoved.

“I really don’t care,” Lewis said of Hokit’s behaviour. “I believe that guys do stuff like that just because it ain’t nothing else we can go after. Because he don’t know me and I don’t know him. So, I believe that he just says and does things like that just to get under someone’s skin that he don’t know. We’re about to go fist to ass in a few weeks, so it’s like, you’ve got to try to find some type of motivation.”

Lewis has his own motivation to draw on. His most recent outing — a TKO loss to Waldo Cortes-Acosta at UFC 324 in January — was one he attributed to a back injury that he says has since fully healed. He is entering this fight with a point to prove.

“It all depends on how I knock this guy out. I believe I can,” Lewis said. “He gets hit a lot. I believe he can’t really take the type of stuff that I’m willing to give out. This is really the best shape I’ve ever been in — conditioning wise, everything. I want to really perform. Especially, I don’t want to make the President look bad.”

A finish would extend Lewis’s own UFC record. He currently holds 16 knockouts in the promotion — more than any fighter in its history — and a win over Hokit would push that mark to 17.

One tradition, however, will not be making an appearance at the White House. Lewis’s post-victory habit of removing his shorts in the octagon is being shelved for the occasion. “I’m going to be more professional, so I’m just going to throw my cup in the audience,” he said. “No pants.”