UFC heavyweight Derrick Lewis wants to take the responsible approach to a return to the Octagon.

By now, you’re probably tired of hearing about the coronavirus pandemic. The outbreak has made its presence felt globally. As of this writing, over 44,000 people have died due to the coronavirus according to John Hopkins University. While over 185,000 people have recovered from COVID-19, the threat remains great and POTUS Donald Trump has extended social distancing guidelines to April 30.

UFC president Dana White has been adamant in his efforts to keep running UFC events despite the situation. Heavyweight Lewis appeared on MMA Junkie Radio and said he has to take the proper precautions so that he doesn’t impact his loved ones.


“Of course I want to get through this safely,” Lewis told MMA Junkie. “I can’t be selfish and stuff like that and go out there and get myself sick and all my family, and bringing back whatever I got and give it to my kids and stuff like that, and my loved ones. So I’ve got to be not selfish enough and just wait and see what the president has to say about everything and just look up to the leaders and just see what they have to say.”

Lewis hopes that things clear up by June. That’s because the UFC plans to make its way to Austin, Texas on June 27. If the stars align, Lewis would like to compete on the card.

“June – I’ll be fighting in June in Austin, Texas,” Lewis said.

“The Black Beast” has won his last two bouts. He’s coming off a unanimous decision win over Ilir Latifi back in February. Lewis also defeated Blagoy Ivanov via split decision back in Nov. 2019. While the wins weren’t pretty, Lewis will certainly take them as he had been stopped back-to-back by Daniel Cormier and Junior dos Santos.