EDMONTON, Alberta, Canada – It’s tough to tell whether or not Derrick Lewis was being serious, but he’s apparently unhappy with Daniel Cormier.

Lewis (28-12 MMA, 19-10 UFC) takes on Jhonata Diniz (8-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) on Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 246 (ESPN+) main card at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

Lewis, who failed in his bid for undisputed UFC heavyweight gold when he was submitted by Cormier in 2018, was asked whom he’d like to fight before he wraps up his career. “The Black Beast’s” response was a rather surprising one, picking the currently retired Cormier.

“Probably DC because that one is still not sitting right with me,” Lewis told MMA Junkie and other reporters at Wednesday’s UFC Fight Night 246 media day. “I don’t know, man. Do people really like DC like that? Come on, man, that guy, I told DC in his face, that guy is a piece of sh*t. He’s a piece of sh*t scumbag, F*ck DC. He knows why, and everyone knows why, too: He disrespected Popeyes chicken. But other than that, he’s a piece of sh*t.”

Derrick Lewis wants a rematch with Daniel Cormier.

“I told DC to his face, man. That guy’s a piece of sh*t.” pic.twitter.com/O1NNQTNWlH

— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) October 30, 2024

Lewis is known for his sense of humor, and throwing in Popeyes might have given it away, but something tells Cormier that there might be an element of truth behind Lewis’ words. Cormier has been rather critical of Lewis in the past, claiming that his time at the top is done.

“I haven’t seen him for a while, but I was pretty hard on him about retiring because he had lost a couple of fights,” Cormier told Ariel Helwani. “And I was telling the truth, and he seemed mad at me, but I haven’t seen him. I’m going to see him this weekend, and I’m going to kind of ask him, like, ‘Yo, are you mad at me?’ There’s a little underlying maybe – it sounds like it might be a little underlying.

“He might be a little p*ssed at me maybe because of the way I talked about him. I don’t know what fight it was where he didn’t look great, but then he knocked the last guy out and I was like, ‘Well, I’m glad he’s back.’ So, I don’t know. My opinions go with their performances, and I think maybe that’s what it is, but in terms of anything else, Derrick and I don’t have many things we do together outside of just the Popeyes thing and then the fight. We can’t be mad at each other. We already fought. It’s settled.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 246.

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