When Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight Derrick Lewis went to jail in 2005, he knew absolutely nothing about the sport of mixed martial arts or the organization that would eventually become his employer.
"All I knew was boxing," Lewis (11-2 mixed martial arts, 2-0 UFC) told USA TODAY Sports.
Well, that and fighting in the street, which had been something of a hobby of his growing up in Louisiana and Texas. Throughout his childhood, in fact, violence was the one constant. As a child he learned to fear it. The house he grew up in, Lewis said, "was basically my mom and stepdad just fighting all the time."
But the older and bigger he got, the more violence started to seem like a fire that could rampage and destroy if you let it, but also provide some needed warmth if you learned how to control it. He enjoyed it, the Houston resident can admit now. Street fighting became some sort of outlet, a place to put all the the fear and anger he'd grown up with.
But you can only seek your comfort there for so long until something bad happens. For Lewis, it came when he was arrested at 19 for aggravated assault, and then later sentenced to five years in prison after violating his probation. He'd wind up doing three-and-a-half years.
"It was horrible, just horrible," Lewis said of prison. "The first few months I was just thinking about getting revenge. But as time went on, I matured a little and realized I needed to change my life. I knew I had to find something to better myself when I got out.
"The worst part was knowing how much I'd hurt my family by that point," Lewis added. "I wanted to better myself, especially when I found out my grandfather had cancer. He used to go to all my football games. I wanted to show him before he passed away, I'm a changed man. I just wanted to give him something to be proud of me for."
At first he thought that something would be boxing, and so did some very notable figures from that sport, including former heavyweight champion George Foreman. But shortly after his release in 2008, Lewis saw a highlight of Quinton "Rampage" Jackson knocking out Chuck Liddell at UFC 71. That got Lewis' attention, and soon he found himself thinking that maybe this sport that looked a lot closer to the real fights he'd experienced might be the one for him.
He had his first amateur bout in January of 2010 and then quickly turned pro and fought four more times that year, losing only once – a decision to former Louisiana State University football player Shawn Jordan, who would later sign with the UFC. Back then, Lewis said, a UFC contract was something he'd only dreamed about.
"I remember we'd joke around in the gym," Lewis said. "You know, 'Wouldn't it be crazy to hear Bruce Buffer announce your name?' We were just joking around."
Then in April, when it happened for real just before Lewis' UFC debut against Jack May at UFC on FOX 11, "it was a surreal feeling," he said. "Just a real emotional moment."
Although the jitters ran high in that fight, Lewis would go on to win via first-round knockout. Then he won the next one, against Guto Innocente, the same way. After that, he stood in the center of the cage and asked for a fight with UFC heavyweight Matt Mitrione. The UFC, acting in the fairy godmother role, quickly granted that particular wish. Now it's just a question of whether Lewis will still think it's such a good idea once he's standing across the cage from Mitrione (7-3, 7-3) in their FOX Sports 1-televised bout at "UFC Fight Night: Jacare vs. Mousasi" in Ledyard, Conn., on Friday.
As for why he picked Mitrione, Lewis said it was mostly a matter of looking for an opponent who'd give him the type of fight he wants.
"I like to stand there and bang," Lewis said. "And I'm pretty sure he's not going to try to take me down at all in this fight."
But also, with his 30th birthday looming in February, Lewis is becoming increasingly aware of the short window of opportunity in this sport. He needs to move up the UFC's heavyweight ranks quickly, he said, "because I'm not getting any younger."
But against Mitrione, he'll have his work cut out for him. While Lewis might have chosen him on the likelihood that he'll be willing to stand there and trade punches, those are the fights that sometimes turn into a bit of a coin flip among hard-hitting heavyweights, and Lewis knows it.
"There really ain't no telling," Lewis said. "This is the biggest fight I've ever been in. Either it'll be a good thing or a bad thing for me."
