Derrick Lewis: Fabricio Werdum hand-picked me for UFC 216 because he thinks I’m easier than Mark Hunt

Derrick Lewis ended his short-lived retirement from mixed martial arts (MMA) following his loss to Mark Hunt earlier this year to accept a fight against Fabricio Werdum, which is set to go down at UFC 216 on Oct. 6 in Las Vegas. Nevada.

Initially, Hunt was clamoring for a fight against “Vai Cavalo,” though the promotion instead opted to book “The Black Beast” against the jiu-jitsu specialist. It’s a move that didn’t sit too well with “Super Samoan,” as he took to social media to blast Werdum for being a “filthy coward dog.”

According to Lewis, Werdum hand-picked him as an opponent, perhaps thinking a fight against him was an easier path to the win column.

“I was surprised because I heard Mark Hunt asked for Fabricio and Fabricio said, basically, that he didn’t want to fight him,” said Derrick during a recent interview on The MMA Hour.

“I guess that same week, they called me and said Fabricio wanted to fight me. He hand-picked me. I guess he thinks I’m the easier fighter because of the way I performed against Mark.”

Still, Derrick doesn’t take it as a sign of disrespect, as he is used to being the underdog and undervalued as an overall MMA fighter.

“It don’t matter, I’ve been underestimated my whole career. Guys don’t believe in my skills and stuff like that. I don’t care. I’m going to go out there and show him what’s up,” added Lewis.

While “The Black Beast” hasn’t exactly shown all his tools inside the Octagon, his go-to knockout power has been more than enough to shoot him up the heavyweight ladder.

As for Hunt, he was left to tango with Marcin Tybura in the main event of UFC Fight Night 121 on Nov. 18, live on FOX Sports 1 from inside Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia.

And who knows, perhaps the winners of those respective matches could be lined up to face one another down the road, assuming fear isn’t a factor.