Derrick Lewis fought in the UFC main event Saturday night, knocked out on punches by Junior dos Santos. It turns out one person in his corner didn’t necessarily think he should have been fighting at all.
Lewis’ coach, Bob Perez, told MMA Junkie radio that after an MRI came back on Lewis’ knee on Feb. 12, he went to his fighter and suggested he not take the fight – the first of his new contract.
“As far as I was concerned I was like, ‘Dude, we gotta pull,’ but Derrick’s like, ‘Hell no, we’re not going to pull,’ ” Perez told the radio show. “I know we go back to the doctor on the 18th and we’ll find out exactly what’s going on with his knee and the proper course of treatment or surgery or whatever he needs.
“But I’m sure he’s been dealing with this for quite some time.”
Perez said he wasn’t sure of the extent of the injuries to Lewis (21-7) during the fight. Helen Yee, from NBC Sports, reported that Lewis fought with damage to his meniscus, ACL and MCL.
Lewis took his second straight loss in what was his 17th UFC heavyweight fight.
Now, Perez said they will wait to hear what the doctor tells them next week to find out what the plan will be for recovery, but he wants to see the 34-year-old Lewis take some time off.
“I would like to see him heal and take time off and get whatever sort of medical treatment he needs to get,” Perez said. “He’s beaten up. With his amateur fights I want to say he’s got 35, 40 fights. He’s got 17 fights in the UFC, the most active fights other than [Donald] Cerrone.
“So I would like him to rest, heal his mind, heal his body and figure everything out and get better.”