In a recent appearance on Ariel Helwani’s show, UFC heavyweight Derrick Lewis offered an unusual explanation for his withdrawal from his scheduled bout against Jhonata Diniz at UFC Edmonton last November.
When asked by Helwani about the circumstances that led to his pulling out of the fight, Lewis responded with comments that have raised eyebrows throughout the combat sports community.
“I had, um, caught my period that same day,” Lewis stated during the interview. When Helwani expressed disbelief, Lewis continued, “Cramping, I was very moody. My period started, and I didn’t want to go out there and fight like that. So I had cramps, bleeding everywhere, I didn’t bring no extra pads.”
The heavyweight elaborated on his remarks, saying, “So if I want to identify as a woman, you got to go with it.” He then made reference to the current political climate, adding, “I know Trump in office right now, you know, that he don’t allow that no more. But if I’m saying that I want to identify… I want to identify as a woman at that time period, that’s what I wanted to do.”
When Helwani pressed him on whether he still identifies as a woman, Lewis replied, “No, not no more. Not no more. You know, Trump in office, no, I can’t do that. I can’t say that no more. No, I’m not a woman no more.”
UFC officials had previously described Lewis’s withdrawal from the November event as being due to a “non-weight cut related medical issue.” Lewis had successfully made weight at 266 pounds on the morning of the scheduled fight but did not appear at the ceremonial weigh-in later that day.
As a result of Lewis’s withdrawal, his bout with Diniz was canceled, and a women’s flyweight match between Jasmine Jasudavicius and Ariane da Silva was moved up to fill the vacancy on the main card.
Lewis, who holds a professional record of 28-12, has not commented further on the situation beyond his appearance on Helwani’s show.
