Derrick Lewis is coming off two straight losses, and some have suggested he's on the verge of retirement ... but the Black Beast insists it's just the opposite -- for the first time in a while he loves fighting!
"I'm feeling good. Rejuvenated. I love the sport again. I love fighting once again. I love doing the training inside of it, once again. I'm feeling pretty good. Feeling confident and feeling ready. Feeling hungry like I used to be whenever I first started and I'm excited to see how it turns out Saturday night."
37-year-old Lewis, the #7 ranked heavyweight, will take on Sergey Spivak at UFC Fight Night from the UFC Apex on Saturday ... and Derrick has visions of working his way back to the top of the division.
Of course, the division is in a bit of flux after champion Francis Ngannou parted ways with Dana White's organization ... and Derrick believes he can still win the strap.
"The path [to the title has] always been there, but you know, I really just got to take my time, fight by fight. I can't really think that far ahead. I believe I still got a couple of fights to go and get back into that [title fight] talk. So, we just gonna take care of business Saturday and see where things go from there."
As for what changed to make Lewis fall in love with MMA again, he says he just realized he was better than how he performed as of late.
"I guess coming off the losses that I had and just knowing I could do way better than that."