"I had to do a lot of meditation" - Derrick Lewis details the impact of Tai Tuivasa loss and how he got over the hump

Derrick Lewis reflects on his KO loss to Tai Tuivasa [Photo credit: @OTHeroicsMMA on Twitter]

Derrick Lewis admitted that losing to Tai Tuivasa at UFC 271 took a toll on his mental well-being.

In his most recent outing, 'The Black Beast' suffered a brutal knockout loss at the hands of Tuivasa in a fight he was favored to win. To make things worse, the incident happened at the Toyota Center in front of his fans, family, and friends in Lewis' hometown of Houston, Texas.

Watch the highlight in the clip below:

Tai Tuivasa KOs Derrick Lewis then does a couple shoeys on the way out. 👟🍻

Take a bow, @BamBamTuivasa. #UFC271 https://t.co/7CR8ViG3WL

Lewis opened up about the aftermath of his devastating loss over five months removed from the pay-per-view event. The 37-year-old heavyweight contender, in an interview with Daniel Cormier, revealed that meditation tremendously helped him push through tough times.

"The last fight took a lot out of me," Lewis said in an episode of the YouTube show The DC Check-In. "But I had to do a lot of meditation and put myself around a lot of positive people to help me get over the hump."

Check out Derrick Lewis' interview in the clip below:

The former UFC title challenger also disclosed that he made significant changes to his training camp by replacing his longtime coach Bob Pereto to join a different team. And while 'The Black Beast' said he's grateful for Perez's service throughout the years, making the change was something he had been mulling over the past few years.

Derrick Lewis excited to be back in Texas

It's a running joke within the MMA community that a "hometown curse" prevents Derrick Lewis from picking up a win in Houston. Lewis lost two straight fights in 'H-Town', dropping an interim title bout against Ciryl Gane at UFC 265, and more recently succumbing to Tuivasa.

However, Lewis pointed out that there wasn't anything supernatural about his losses and admitted that the pressure of fighting on his home turf can be too much. Nonetheless, the Houstonian claimed he's excited to be back in Texas for his upcoming fight against Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 277 in Dallas this weekend.

"I like fighting in Texas. I'm feeling good this week," Lewis said in an interview with UFC.com. "I’m excited, happy. It’s been a while since I’ve been really happy during fight week. No nerves, really."

UFC 277 press conference staredowns: Derrick Lewis tries to punk Sergei Pavlovich, actually gets Dana White mmafighting.com/2022/7/28/2328… https://t.co/LHtQYoLwN3