Lewis, with knockout power and postfight charisma on the mic, is a face of the UFC. His toughest challenges have routinely been outside the Octagon.
' journey to the UFC as the clichéd tale of the Black kid who had to fight his way out of the impoverished confines of New Orleans to escape the fate of incarceration or an early grave. That story is told far too often when it comes to Black athletes. The success story that isn't told about Black athletes enough is the one where they overcome a feeling of guilt for their accomplishments when the people around them act like they are owed something.
"I grew up wanting to take care of my family, and not having that support really hurts me the most," he said."They say I've changed because of the money, but I'm the same guy. I'm just trying to be smart with my money because none of them are helping me fight to make it."But, like most things, he shrugs it off and focuses on the task at hand.
"Derrick made it to the UFC with raw ability," Jackson recalled."He made it this far with the basic settings, and then we started seeing the growth over time. He didn't have any real jiu-jitsu. If he was taken down in a fight, his coach would say, 'OK, Derrick. Get up!' And with another grown man on him, he would just get up. He's been able to do that on instinct. Now he's adding the ground game.
"They don't watch my fights," he said of his children."I'm cringe to my kids, no matter what I say or do. I go to my kids' school, and their friends are saying, 'My balls hot.'" "I almost think that our relationship would be much better if I wasn't successful," he said."I went through the same struggles as they did. They know everything about me. They knew how bad I wanted to be a fighter, and none of them ever came to my local fights. I had no support. They wouldn't even give me a ride to the gym. I've been doing this since 2009, and none of them have ever been to any of my fights.
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