DERRICK LEWIS has revealed that he has been battling with a "life or death" medical condition for over a year and has been urged not to step back into the cage.
"The Black Beast" defeated Ilir Latifi in a featured heavyweight bout at UFC 247 on Saturday while also fighting a potentially life-threatening problem.
The 35-year-old initially confirmed rumours that he would be ready to step in as a potential back-up for Francis Ngannou's bout with Jairzinho Rozenstruik next month.
But Lewis then revealed that he might not be able to because he has a serious medical issue looming over his head.
He told Ariel Helwani on ESPN: “Yeah, I’ll be available but also, my coach wanted me to get something checked out that came up from my medicals and stuff like that.
“It’s been hindering my training, so we’re really supposed to be keeping it on the down low, but I’ve got to get it checked out.
It’s been hindering my training, the doctor had actually told me that he thinks I shouldn’t have taken this last fight
“The UFC doctors know what it is, and the doctors here in Houston already know what it is, as well, so it’s just something that’s been going on that I still got to get addressed.
“It’s like life-or-death situation serious.”
Lewis, who has a reputation for being one of UFC's biggest characters, stressed that he wasn't joking this time and was actually advised against fighting Latifi.
He added: “It’s something that happens to a lot of athletes, it doesn’t matter if you’re healthy or not.
“It’s something that still can happen to you at a drop of a hat. That’s all I can say.
“The doctor had actually told me that he thinks I shouldn’t have taken this last fight.
“He said if the situation like this that he don’t think I should fight, so I got a second opinion from the UFC doctors, and they ran over everything and they were saying it shouldn’t be a problem.”
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