By Shawn Smith

Heading into last night’s UFC Fight Night 110 bout against Mark Hunt, Derrick Lewis seemed primed for a big run at Stipe Miocic’ UFC heavyweight title. After years of mediocrity, “The Black Beast” figured out how to use his other-worldly power to crush six straight opponents, including contenders Travis Browne, Roy Nelson and Gabriel Gonzaga.

But on the night Lewis was expected to secure his title shot, he failed. Dangerous underdog Mark Hunt kept Lewis’ back against the cage, eventually wearing him down. Lewis was clearly struggling to move in the later rounds, grimacing at times and moving as little as possible.

“It’s my lower back, it’s not my leg,” Lewis said during the post-fight speech. “It’s just a long-time injury, I hurt it back in 2011 and it’s just been hurting all week.”

An emotional, defeated Lewis took to the microphone after the bout, effectively announcing his retirement from mixed martial arts.

“That’s probably my last fight,” Lewis told Brian Stann. “I’m getting married next week, and I don’t like to put my family through all this. That’d be my last fight.”

While Lewis may never have been the prototypical heavyweight you’d expect to see compete for a world title, you can’t argue with results. Six straight wins, no matter what you think of the current heavyweight division, is extraordinary. His loss is a considerable one for a division hungry for talent.

Now, should we expect this retirement to stick? Who knows.

Fighters are always emotional after a big-time loss and Lewis is no different. He’s not the first fighter we’ve seen call it quits after a career-altering defeat and won’t be the last. He also wouldn’t be the first to call it quits and then return to the Octagon. However, it was clear that his back was bothering him throughout the later portions of the fight and if he’s tempted to return, it might be something that requires further assessment.

If Lewis rides off into the sunset, it leaves fight fans wondering what’s next for a heavyweight division that is now without one of its top contenders.

They promotion is unlikely to book another Hunt against Miocic bout anytime soon after the violent, one-sided beating Miocic put on Hunt in their initial bout.
Contenders Fabricio Werdum, Alistair Overeem and Junior Dos Santos have all fallen to Miocic within the last 14 months.

This leaves Cain Velasquez and Francis Ngannou, both of which might owe Hunt a considerable thankyou after his victory over Lewis.

Velasquez has been injury-ridden over the last few years and may never return to the dominant form we once knew. In a March 2017 statement to his fans, Velasquez said he “can’t provide a definitive time lime” on when he’d be ready to return. Since then, little has been heard as to when he’ll return to the cage. While there is hope that he’ll return in 2017, nothing is official.

This leaves the emerging Ngannou as the obvious choice for a world title opportunity. The 10-1 Frenchman is 5-0 in his UFC career with five finishes. Most recently, Ngannou made easy work of former world champion Andrei Arlovski in January.

If Lewis is legitimately retired from MMA, this leaves a significant void in the heavyweight division. But like the sport has always done, it’s forced to move on. This leave a spot near the top of the heap for Ngannou, who will be more than happy to match his skills with Miocic in the near future.