Overview
- Lewis is officially booked to fight Waldo Cortes-Acosta at UFC 324 on January 24, 2026 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
- On his The Beast & The Cowboy podcast, Lewis said the UFC first offered him former GLORY champion Rico Verhoeven, who he claims turned the matchup down.
- Lewis also said a proposed rematch with Sergei Pavlovich did not materialize after Pavlovich declined.
- Verhoeven recently left GLORY and has only one recorded MMA bout, a 2015 TKO win, making any UFC move a high-profile crossover.
- Reporting interprets Lewis’s comments as evidence the UFC explored signing Verhoeven, while separate reports link the kickboxer to potential boxing and MMA opportunities that are not yet confirmed.