UFC: Derrick Lewis blames his back problems for his performance against Francis Ngannou at UFC 226

UFC 226 is finally in the books now. It turned out to be just as it was advertised, i.e. highly entertaining with plenty of exciting match-ups. While some fights did disappoint (Lewis vs. Ngannou), some others definitely made up for them (Costa vs. Hall). There were also plenty of underdog victories such as Lewis’ over Ngannou and DC’s over Miocic. However, one major talking point from the event was the snooze-fest between Lewis and Ngannou. The fighters barely engaged each other and only feinted from the outside. This led to plenty of criticism from the pundits and loud boos from the crowd. The victor Derrick Lewis has now revealed that his lack of activity during the fight was due to some problems that he has had with his back.

Joe Rogan claimed live on air that this was the worst heavyweight fight he had ever seen. Ngannou only managed to land 9 shots while Lewis connected with around 20 shots over the course of three five-minute rounds. Here’s what Lewis had to say about the bout:

No one wants to win a fight like that. My back was giving me problems before the fight and I didn’t have the mobility that I needed. The plan was to pressure him and put him against the cage, but I didn’t have the mobility to do that. I feel terrible.