With Derrick Lewis delivering one of the all-time great free agency announcements following his 33-second finish over Marcos Rogerio de Lima at UFC 291, PFL color commentator and former UFC fighter Kenny Florian would love to see Lewis in the PFL SmartCage.
In all likelihood, that would set up a rematch between Lewis and massive PFL free agent signing Francis Ngannou.
Lewis did say he would like to return to the UFC under a new deal, but there’s no doubt the stock of “The Black Beast” is quite high. Between his finishing style and his fan-friendly personality, Florian believes Lewis is a great addition to the roster.
“Derrick Lewis is one of the most likable guys in the UFC,” Florian said on Heck of a Morning while promoting Friday’s PFL Playoffs event. “It was great to see him get a knockout win in his final fight on his contract in the UFC, which I actually was not aware of either. But yeah, I think a lot of it took a lot of people by surprise, but that’s the way you do it, and sometimes when you’re on a losing streak, it tends to get people to not let their hands go and be a little bit more conservative — ‘I just want to get the win no matter what it takes, I just want to get a win here.’
“But no, he actually went for it, went for that flying knee, which landed beautifully, and to have someone like Derrick Lewis in the PFL would be huge. [It’s] a great time to be a mixed martial arts fan. It’s also a great time to be a mixed martial arts professional fighter, as well, because you have more options, and I think any time you can increase your value like that, I think it’s huge. Derrick Lewis, great personality, exciting fighter to watch, he comes to fight all the time, and that could potentially be and interesting signing for the PFL, for sure.”
Ngannou is expected to make his promotional debut in the first quarter of 2024 following his October boxing match with Tyson Fury. The former UFC heavyweight champion didn’t just ask for things to help out his long-term future, but also his future PFL opponents. Ngannou revealed on The MMA Hour following his signing with the promotion that he negotiated a minimum purse of $2 million for his promotional counterparts.
Lewis holds a decision win over Ngannou at UFC 226 in July 2018 in a fight many say is one of the worst bouts in MMA history that, considering the finishing capabilities of both fighters, shocked anyone who watched it. If the pairing could somehow meet again in the PFL, Florian believes there’s almost no chance lighting could strike twice.
“Just based on the way that these guys fight and also them knowing full well what happened in that first fight, I think one of those guys would have to be knocked out [this time],” Florian said. “I know I did say that the first time around, but yeah, that, I think, was kind of a unicorn fight. Very, very unusual.”