"He's a gatekeeper" - John McCarthy doesn't think Derrick Lewis will ever hold a title

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John McCarthy (left) and Derrick Lewis (right) [Image credits: @johnmccarthymma and @mmafighting on Instagram]

MMA referee and broadcaster John McCarthy is of the opinion that UFC heavyweight Derrick Lewis will never hold a championship title in the promotion.

Speaking on the 'Weighing In' podcast with Josh Thomson, McCarthy stated that, according to him, 'The Black Beast' was a gatekeeper who would never attain the status of a champion.

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"He [Derrick Lewis] is a gatekeeper, though. Because he has been given two title shots. He had the one against [Daniel] Cormier, he lost that one. He had the interim one against Ciryl Gane, he lost that one. Look, he can fight, he's tough, he's got certain aspects of the fighting game that he is incredibly powerful at. His ground-and-pound is mean. He is super-strong but the technical guys are gonna give him fits. So, is he ever gonna be that guy that's gonna be the champion? I don't think so. I don't think he's got that," said John McCarthy.

Catch the clip of John McCarthy and Josh Thomson discussing Derrick Lewis' future in the UFC below:

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Derrick Lewis follows up his title-shot loss with a knockout victory

After suffering a third-round TKO loss to Ciryl Gane for the UFC interim heavyweight championship, Derrick Lewis returned to action on December 18. In the last UFC event of the year, 'The Black Beast' ran through his opponent Chris Daukaus and put him to sleep with a barrage of strikes in the opening round.

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With the victory, Lewis became the record-holder for the most knockouts in UFC history (13).

In his post-fight interview with Michael Bisping, Lewis hilariously said that he would be open to a title shot but only if the championship fight is scheduled for three rounds instead of five.

"Yeah, I would love to get a title shot for sure. If they could change that rule and make it a three-round title-shot, hit me up. But if not, don't call my phone. F**k that," said Derrick Lewis.

Catch Derrick Lewis' full post-fight interview with Michael Bisping below:

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