Derrick Lewis has President Donald Trump to thank for spot on UFC White House card

WASHINGTON (AP) — Derrick Lewis rang up his latest knockout inside the UFC cage and asked if his biggest fan was in the Tennessee crowd.

Please hold.

President Donald Trump was not in attendance, but he was on the line with friend and UFC CEO Dana White. White passed his phone to the fighter, and Lewis and Trump shared a quick conversation.

The topic?

“It’s classified,” Lewis said with a laugh.

It sure helped a fighter such as Lewis to have a boss with a direct line to the president and even more so to have the president in his corner. Lewis, who holds the UFC record for most knockouts with 16, was a glaring omission when UFC announced its Freedom 250 card set for Sunday on the South Lawn of the White House.

Trump, a noted fight fan since the promotion's infancy, was in attendance at the UFC show in Miami in April and asked White why Lewis wasn't fighting at the White House. After heavyweight Josh Hokit won his fight that night, White knew he had his opponent for Lewis and quickly scheduled one more bout for the 250 card.

"About an hour before that, the president said to me, ‘Why is Derrick Lewis not on the White House card?’ I said, ‘I’ll be back in five minutes,'” White said. “I called Derrick Lewis and said the president wants to know why you're not on the White House card.”

White asked Lewis if he wanted to fight, and it was an immediate yes.

“I’ve been wanting to come in the White House just to see how it is," Lewis said.

Score another White House win for Trump.

“He likes Derrick Lewis, he likes his personality, he likes the way he fights,” White said.

The 41-year-old Lewis, billed as “The Black Beast,” said he doesn't want to let down Trump by losing to Hokit.

“It was pretty cool,” Lewis said. “The significance of it is like, life is like a movie. If you hear my story, know everything that I’ve been through. Coming from the bottom of everything you could really think of, going all the way to the top. It’s crazy. Somebody needs to write a book about my life.”

Lewis lived a troubled childhood growing up the son of a single mother in Louisiana before his family later moved to Texas. Lewis was charged shortly after high school graduation with aggravated assault and was placed on probation. He later violated the probation and served 3 1/2 years in prison. He picked up boxing and mixed martial arts after his release and won his first pro fight in 2010.

Lewis fought twice for the UFC heavyweight championship and lost both times.

He is one of UFC's more engaging personalities and has made a habit of turning his post-fight celebrations into highlight-reel performances more memorable than another KO. He has mooned the crowd, launched his cup into the stands and famously strips off his shorts — once even fanning a fallen opponent with them in an attempt at revival.

He might even do it again on the South Lawn.

“Please let me take my pants off,” Lewis said.

Lewis had yet to meet Trump as of fight week but still can't believe he shared a phone call with him after that July 2025 fight night.

“The crowd was so loud after my fight in Tennessee, I couldn't really hear what he was saying,” Lewis said. “He did sound like the ‘South Park’ character.”

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AP MMA: https://apnews.com/hub/mixed-martial-arts