It’s been awhile since we’ve seen Derrick Lewis, better known as The Black Beast. He’s coming back in action at UFC Austin on February 18th to fight Marcin Tybura, but he’s got his eyes on another fighter. Francis Ngannou is taking some time off after coming up short against Stipe Miocic, but whenever he comes back, Lewis is up to throw down with the big man. He doesn’t stop at the call-out though, he alleges the 31-year old is at least 40 and is on performance enhancing drugs.

“Yeah, I’ll fight [Francis Ngannou] on sight you know. This guy over here, every time somebody ask me a question about him, I say something nice, but every time somebody say something about him, he’s like trying to talk down on me saying I’m not on his level, talking about how I’m too slow and this and that. I really don’t care, but, don’t try and talk sh-t about me every chance you get. He talks sh-t, but he’s never like, ‘Oh, I want to fight Derek.’ He’s always talking down on me, but he doesn’t want to fight me.”

Working on my speed #UFCAustin pic.twitter.com/Vk561L4mz0

— Derrick Lewis (@Thebeast_ufc) January 28, 2018

“I’m working on my cardio and sh-t, he needs to get down with me. Everybody talking about how I don’t have no cardio and this and that, but they don’t know that I do have cardio. I just hold it in and make it seem like I don’t because of the way I move. I just move slow and then I explode. It is what it is. That motherf-cker is at least 40-years old. They say he was homeless so he probably don’t even know [how old he is]. Tell me where his birth certificate is at. He’s 40, man, juiced up. They say he’s younger than me, there’s no way he’s younger than me.” — Derrick Lewis speaking on the Slip n’ Dip podcast as transcribed by MMA NYTT.

A fight with Francis Ngannou makes all the sense in the world and has been brewing for awhile. Although, it seems like something the UFC would only put together if Derrick Lewis wins this next fight with Tybura. Lewis was on a six-fight win streak until it was interrupted by Mark Hunt, which is nothing to turn your nose up at. An impressive comeback against a talent like Tybura, could very well give him the Ngannou fight he’s looking for. No question a match-up like that would sell tickets and put butts in seats.

This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 1/31/2018.