UFC heavyweight Derrick Lewis plans to pawn $300,000 championship belt

American heavyweight Derrick Lewis has opened up on his blueprint not simply win a UFC belt — but pawn it for $300K.

Derrick Lewis wants to win himself the UFC interim heavyweight title this Sunday – just so he can pawn it.

“Especially if that belt is worth what I think it is,” he told The Daily Telegraph from his home in Houston, Texas this week.

“If it is real gold … yeah, I’ll probably give it away under a streetlight somewhere.”

Having already equalled the most knockouts of any fighter in UFC history, cult American hero Lewis is now chasing championship status against undefeated Frenchman Ciryl Gane at UFC 265 this Sunday.

With regular champ Francis Ngannou sidelined until later this year, 36-year-old Lewis has been handpicked to challenge for an interim title in front of a packed hometown crowd at Houston’s Toyota Center.

Over the course of his professional career, the tattooed knockout king estimates he has won six, maybe seven heavyweight straps with different fight promotions – yet kept none of them.

So as for what happens should he claim a UFC belt which — even when engraved with the word ‘interim’ — still carries an estimated street value of US$300,000.

“I think I’ll pawn it,” Lewis said with a cackle. “Especially if there’s some real gold in there.”

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Derrick Lewis is chasing the UFC interim heavyweight title this Sunday. (Photo by Mike Roach/Zuffa LLC)

In recent years, it has been suggested the leather UFC championship belts, which have been earned by Australians Robert Whittaker and Alex Volkanovski, boast roughly 1kg of gold, brass straps and various stones.

So you wouldn’t maybe keep it Derrick?

“I guess it could hang on the wall of my garage,” Lewis concedes.

“But earlier in my career, I never did anything like that.

“I’ve won six, seven belts and given all of them away. I don’t have any left.”

Asked where the belts went, Lewis continued: “Friends, old gyms, even fans.

“They just didn’t mean anything to me so I gave ‘em away.

“Don’t have none of them.

“And my coach, he’s mad at me about that.

“Same with my wife.

“(Laughs) She’s actually rolling her eyes at me at me right now.”

Despite being an undeniable favourite among fight fans, Lewis will start as the betting outsider for his UFC 265 headliner, with the TAB currently posting him at $3.50.

Gane, meanwhile, is $1.30.

For the Frenchman, his favouritism comes on the back of a stunning rise which started after taking up fighting at age 24, and while working in a furniture store.

Since then, he has gone undefeated as a professional.

Derrick Lewis celebrates after his knockout victory over Aleksei Oleinik in 2020. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)

After first winning all 13 Muay Thai fights, Gane then switched to MMA where he is also undefeated in nine appearances, with six of those coming inside the Octagon.

But as for what Lewis sees when he looks at his undefeated rival?

“I see a Frenchman,” he deadpans.

“And one who hasn’t sparred anyone like me.

“So many fighters, they look at me, look at my previous fights and think ‘oh, he just has that puncher’s chance’.

“But it’s completely different once you get inside that Octagon with me.

“They might go in there thinking they have the upper hand, but it’s completely different when we are eye to eye.”

Currently the No.2 ranked heavyweight contender, behind only recently-dethroned champ Stipe Miocic, Lewis is himself on a four-fight win streak.

The 36-year-old Texan is also coming off a spectacular KO win over fellow American Curtis Blaydes in February. The finish took him to 12 UFC knockouts KO finishes, tying for the record with Vitor Belfort and Matt Brown.

Lewis also boasts the most knock outs in the UFC heavyweight division.

After this weekend, the company’s next blockbuster is UFC 266, where Australian featherweight champ Alex Volkanovski defends his title against Brian Ortega.