Derrick Lewis explains how he has gotten into the ‘best shape of his life’ ahead of UFC 324

Ahead of his 31st fight in the UFC, longtime heavyweight contender Derrick Lewis believes he is in the best shape of his life.

On January 24, the premier MMA promotion returns for their first event of the year and their first of their new broadcast deal with Paramount with UFC 324, headlined by Justin Gaethje vs Paddy Pimblett.

With it being the first event of the new era in the promotion, the card is relatively stacked with big names in the sport, including Sean O’Malley, Rose Namajunas and Jean Silva to name a few.

Also on the card is the current record holder of the most knockouts in the promotion’s history, Derrick Lewis, as he takes on soaring contender, Waldo Cortes-Acosta.

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Lewis explains how he is in the ‘best shape of his life’

‘The Black Beast’ is currently on a two-fight win streak, with his last win being an extremely impressive first round knockout over Tallison Teixeira.

Over his years in the premier promotion, fans have become used to the 40-year-old’s antics, especially his celebrations in the Octagon.

As well as that, though, it has seemingly been a regular occurrence that Lewis looks to be in tremendous shape weeks out from his fights, and then come fight night, he seems to pack on the pounds again.

And ahead of his clash against ‘Salsa Boy’ on January 24, Lewis once again looks to be in tremendous shape, and he has explained how he gotten into the ‘best shape of his life’.

“I ain’t gonna lie to you, I’m in the best shape of my life, right now,” he told The Beast and the Cowboy podcast.

“Mentally and physically, everything is going perfectly. The UFC provided me with some great peptides and I’ve been taking it every day and I’ve been feeling the difference.”

Lewis’ head coach Bob Perez went on to claim that the peptides are going to be a ‘game changer’ for the 40-year-old, claiming that he has been performing excellently in training.

Could Derrick Lewis enter the heavyweight title conversation

Having been in the promotion for over 12 years, some of Lewis’ performances have left a lot to be desired and after a recent skid, it seemed as though his time was numbered.

However, with him having won his last two fights and fighting Cortes-Acosta, who is currently ranked at number five in the division, Lewis is somehow almost back into the title conversation.

And with champion Tom Aspinall out for the foreseeable future, ‘The Black Beast’ could sneak into the title picture with a win next Saturday night.