UFC 265: Derrick Lewis faces Ciryl Gane for interim heavyweight belt in Houston

[Animous]

You've got to be bold to have 'Knockout King' tattooed across your chest.

But by and large, Derrick Lewis has backed up that claim since first stepping into a UFC octagon in 2014.

Seven years on, the American is tied for most knockouts in UFC history (12) and the fans' favourite aims to win his first UFC belt on Saturday.

For the first time, the 36-year-old is headlining a UFC event in his home city of Houston, where he faces Ciryl Gane for the interim heavyweight title.

The undefeated Frenchman, 31, has enjoyed a meteoric rise in mixed martial arts having only started MMA training four years ago.

And upsetting the home favourite could secure a ground-breaking fight in Gane's homeland, a unification bout with UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou.

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Look beneath the tattoo on Lewis' chest and you'll see a pair of boxing gloves and the words 'hard times'.

It was boxing that helped Lewis make a life for himself after serving over three years in prison for aggravated assault.

After a troubled upbringing in Louisiana, Lewis' family relocated to Houston in his early teens and he was attending college on an American football scholarship when he violated his probation, which resulted in a prison term.

After being released, Lewis worked as a tow-truck driver and started boxing at the gym of former heavyweight champion George Foreman, who lives in the Houston area.

The boxing legend, now 72, recently said a young Lewis was a "machine of destruction". He became his mentor and was ready to help him pursue a boxing career.

But Lewis was also interested in MMA and after winning his first professional fight in 2010, his decision was made.

That was the first of 20 knockouts and 25 wins from 33 MMA fights to date, and it's not just his big-hitting style and his devastating right hand that have made Lewis so popular.

He's outspoken and he's 'one of them'. He's already told fans which bar he'll be in on Sunday if they want to "buy him shots".

"It's 'cause I'm real, I'm not fake like everyone else," he said. "I don't care what you think of me, I'll still speak my mind, no matter what."

He showed that again in the pre-fight press conference, with an expletive-laden reply when a French reporter asked Lewis how it would feel to get beat in his home city.

"You'll have to excuse my French but… " I'll let you guess the rest.

Lewis has become a celebrity in Houston, throwing the first pitch at a Houston Astros game last month and being named honorary team captain for the Houston Texans at an NFL game in 2019.

Lewis has already had one shot at the UFC heavyweight title, being dominated by Daniel Cormier in 2018, and he lost his next fight shortly after.

But he's rebuilt his fearsome reputation with a four-fight win streak, claiming an upset win over Curtis Blaydes in February with a stunning uppercut.

He's now beaten four of the top eight in the heavyweight rankings, plus champion Ngannou, before facing the more technical Gane.

"He's a reactive striker, he'll want me to push the pace and try to counter, but I can't let that dictate the outcome," said Lewis.

"He is a boring fighter. He likes to sit back and do a lot of leg kicks. But win, lose or draw, I want to have an exciting fight here in my home town. I've got to represent Houston."

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During his youth in western France, Gane played football and basketball before leaving for the capital Paris.

He found work in a furniture store, where a friend convinced him to try Muay Thai. He went on to become a two-time national champion before converting to MMA in 2017, making his professional debut in 2018.

After just three stoppage wins, he was signed by the UFC in 2019. Six fights later he remains unbeaten and aims to make Lewis the third top-six contender he's beaten this year alone.

"It's strange [his meteoric rise]," he said. "But I was ready, I'm an athlete and I have a good fight IQ.

"I've always been good at sport. And when I was training in Muay Thai, my coach told me 'you can do something'.

"I had a job, like everybody. But I was 24 and, in my mind, I was ready to make money from sport. So I said 'OK, it's time'."

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