UFC star insists referee has a "conspiracy" against him after string of defeats

03 February 2023 , 15:55

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UFC star insists referee has a "conspiracy" against him after string of defeats

Derrick Lewis is convinced referee Dan Miragliotta has given him bad luck after being knocked out in his last two UFC fights.

Lewis, 37, is back in action this Saturday as he looks to end a poor run of form against Sergei Spivac in Las Vegas. 'The Black Beast' was knocked out by Sergei Pavlovich and Tai Tuivasa in his last two fights, with Miragliotta refereeing both of his defeats. The ending of his fight against Pavlovich was controversial as Miragliotta was criticised for stopping the fight too soon and Lewis feels his critics are forgetting about the nature of the defeat.

"They act like they didn’t see that last fight,” Lewis told reporters. “They’re going to stop the fight all early and this and that, people are like, ‘I don’t know if Derrick still has it.’ Come on, man. Dan Miragliotta or whatever his name is, he’s got a conspiracy out on me. The last two fights I lost, he’s been the ref.

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“If he’s the ref on this fight, I’m going to be like, ‘I don’t want him.’ If they’re still going to try to put him in the cage and he’s going to say, ‘Fighter, you ready? Fighter, you ready?’ I’m going to say, ‘No.’ We’re going to need Herb Dean or somebody up in there because [Miragliotta] ain’t reffing none of my fights. No offence to him, he’s a great guy, I’m pretty sure, but I don’t want him reffing none of my fights.”

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Miragliotta was also the referee for Lewis' stoppage loss to Ciryl Gane at UFC 265, as 'The Black Beast' lost out on the chance to win the interim heavyweight title in that fight. Over a year has passed since Lewis' last UFC win, as his hand was last raised in the octagon when he stopped Chris Daukaus in December 2021.

Derrick Lewis believes referee Dan Miragliotta has a "conspiracy" against him (Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Lewis even jokingly called for the UFC to conduct a background check on Miragliotta, adding: “I was undefeated in Texas too until Dan Miragliotta f***** all that up. Hopefully, I can keep it going in Vegas. I’m undefeated in Vegas also. I’m telling you, it’s a conspiracy. They need to do a background check on Dan, for real. I’m serious.”

Referee Mark Smith was the third man in the octagon for Lewis' last win against Daukaus, not Miragliotta. Lewis has fought eight times for the UFC in Las Vegas and will be looking to keep up his impressive run in the city against Spivac, even if Miragliotta is the man in between the two fighters.

Harry Davies