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UFC 229: Derrick Lewis' crazy post-fight interview heats up Twitter

Lewis bluntly explains why he took his pants off, declares President Trump told him to win, and says he wants to smoke pot with Joe Rogan.

Headshot of Gael Cooper
Headshot of Gael Cooper
Gael Cooper
CNET editor Gael Fashingbauer Cooper, a journalist and pop-culture junkie, is co-author of "Whatever Happened to Pudding Pops? The Lost Toys, Tastes and Trends of the '70s and '80s," as well as "The Totally Sweet '90s." She's been a journalist since 1989, working at Mpls.St.Paul Magazine, Twin Cities Sidewalk, the Minneapolis Star Tribune, and NBC News Digital. She's Gen X in birthdate, word and deed. If Marathon candy bars ever come back, she'll be first in line.
Expertise Breaking news, entertainment, lifestyle, travel, food, shopping and deals, product reviews, money and finance, video games, pets, history, books, technology history, and generational studies Credentials
  • Co-author of two Gen X pop-culture encyclopedia for Penguin Books. Won "Headline Writer of the Year"​ award for 2017, 2014 and 2013 from the American Copy Editors Society. Won first place in headline writing from the 2013 Society for Features Journalism.
Gael Cooper
2 min read

Derrick Lewis gave what might be the most memorable post-fight interview Saturday night at UFC 229. Sure, he was later overshadowed by the ugly brawl that ended the evening, but until then, fans on social media couldn't stop talking about Lewis.

Lewis fought his way to a comeback victory over Russian Alexander Volkov, finally downing him with one impressive punch just when Lewis seemed worn out.

But it was Lewis' spectacularly epic interview with MMA commentator Joe Rogan after the fight that started the meme machine rolling. (Warning: blunt terms for male body parts and other non-G-rated language ahead.)

First, Lewis took off his pants, standing in his underwear.

When Rogan asked why he chose to take his pants off, well ... Lewis flat-out told him.

But Lewis wasn't done. he went on to tell Rogan that he had presidential orders to win the fight.

"Before the fight, Donald Trump called me and said I gotta knock this Russian [expletive] out, cause they're making him look bad on the news," Lewis said.

When asked if he might be interested in a title shot, Lewis stayed quotable, saying, "I need to sit my black ass down and do some more cardio." Fans loved his honesty, even though one pointed out that "sitting down" and "doing cardio" are kind of opposites.

And as Rogan was letting him go, Lewis had an idea. "Hey, next week or maybe two weeks from now, I'm gonna come on your show and smoke some weed with you," he said. (Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk recently made headlines for doing just that -- well, one puff of that -- on Rogan's podcast, the Joe Rogan Experience.)

Lewis' interview might possibly rank higher in fans' memories of Saturday night than any fight he could ever win. "Yo Derrick Lewis is a national treasure that must be protected by the FBI," wrote one Twitter user.

But by the end of the night, after that now-infamous brawl, UFC management could only dream of a time when Lewis' blunt language was their biggest issue.