The Power of Love: How UFC KO King Derrick Lewis Finds Inspiration from Coach

What helped power Derrick Lewis into becoming the UFC record holder for most knockouts in heavyweight history? The easiest and most efficient way to describe the secret teaching methods of coach Bob Perez is probably best told through an anecdote relayed to me while visiting the fighter's training camp during his final week of preparation for UFC 247.

The same basic thing was told to me in various different forms by just about each and every one of the fighters I visited that day at the Main Street Boxing and Muay Thai gym in Houston, where I spent a few hours listening to people talk and watching fighters train.

Among those working out were UFC 247 fighters Lewis, women's flyweight contender Lauren Murphy and bantamweight prospect Domingo Pilarte. Down the line were those readying themselves for regional MMA shows, and there were a few other fighters there, too, seemingly just to stay sharp for whatever comes next. 

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But the story starts with a comment that would be like a knife to the heart of a coach from a fighter just five minutes before the two are scheduled to walk down to the cage for the first time together. It's just as devastating to the listener upon the retelling.

"Hey Bob, if I lose, will you still love me?"

The answer to the question is always the same, whether it's asked by UFC contender Murphy before her previous fight, as it was in this particular story, or any other fighter Perez coaches, professional, amateur or somewhere in between.

"Of course I will, Lauren," Perez assures. "No matter what."

When it comes to Lewis, it's not hard to see how Perez would have such a positive impact.

According to MMA Fighting's Chuck Mindenhall, Lewis' first memories of fighting had come from seeing his mother fight his stepfather, and those were always fights she could never win or from which there never seemed any escape.

Lewis did escape, though. During his teen years, he relocated to Houston from Louisiana, but he did so at the expense of losing what little guidance he had going for him in his life. As such things usually go, that eventually led to more troubles. He ended up doing three-and-a-half years in prison, incarcerated after violating the probation he received from a Texas court after fending off a jealous ex-husband over time Lewis spent with the man's former wife. 

That landed Lewis in prison. The man was a member of the Klu Klux Klan and had tracked Lewis down with a shotgun, but Lewis' assault caused the man to lose his sight in one eye.

Upon release, Lewis eventually found his way to MMA, but there the fighter learned the terrible truth that the world of professional prizefighting could be just as disappointing as life outside of it. 

Sure, Lewis won fights and made some money, but the people around him never quite seemed to give him a fair shake. What a blessing it must have been for the fighter to find his way to Perez just a few years later. Some might even say it was meant to be. 

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Lewis met Perez over eight years ago and started training with him around seven years ago, but the trust he has in Perez today is something that slowly grew over time. 

"In this sport, in sports period, it's really hard to find people that you really trust and that really want your best interests," Lewis said. "I've been screwed over so many times, so much from my previous coaches and managers and stuff like that and relationships outside of fighting. So I don't really trust no one."

It's not hard to imagine why. Trust issues are usually the longest lingering effects of personal traumas. It's a wonder that someone with as rough a go as Lewis is able to trust anyone at all. 

It took some time, but Lewis does trust Perez now, and like no other human being in this world beyond his wife and two children. That's better than just having a coach. It's like having a friend. Better yet, it's like having a second family. 

"Oh, yeah. It took me a lot of time," Lewis said. "It took at least six to seven years."

Additionally, Lewis said the thing that made Perez stand out most wasn't how excellent a coach he was. No doubt Perez's success in MMA over the years has already shown that, growing from the first days he spent coaching 15 years ago to today when he has three UFC fighters competing on just one card at UFC 247.

But what truly makes Perez special—beyond the talent and abilities all coaches must have to attract world-class talent to their stables—is something entirely different.

"I believe the best thing about my coach is that I really do believe he cares about me and my family and my health," Lewis said. "That's the number one thing that makes me keep coming to the gym and not wanting to go anywhere else."

So Lewis enters his contest against Ilir Latifi on Saturday night at the Toyota Center in Houston with 10 knockouts in the UFC's heavyweight division. He's tied with Cain Velasquez and Junior Dos Santos for the mark but has a real chance to become the single-person record holder this weekend against Latifi.

And beyond his natural talent, the X's and O's of coaching him on how to use it and the relatively simple art of getting the fighter into physical shape, the force that helps power the fighter is the same love everyone has access to within their own hearts. 

It wasn't just Lewis who had experienced it. Murphy likened Perez to family, someone who came along in her life at just the right time in her career to help her become the best person she could possibly be.

As did Pilarte, who expressed an equal amount of love and admiration for his trainer as he left for the day ahead of his second-ever UFC appearance. 

"Hey brother, I love you man," Perez said to Pilarte. 

"I love you, man," Pilarte replied with a smile that proved what he was saying was true.  

Amateur MMA fighter Kristin Kotinek mimicked the same when she relayed what attracted her to Main Street, a gym Perez co-owns with former heavyweight boxing contender Lou Savarese and stalwart boxing trainer Bobby Benton. 

"He's amazing," Kotinek said. "You feel it as soon as you come in here. You really do feel like family here."

Heck, one of the fighters even told me a story about how Perez cornered an amateur title fight one night, taught that same fighter how to dance after it and then sent him off to his high school homecoming dance. 

"I genuinely love them, man," Perez said. "You can really feel if somebody cares and if they don't care."

Still, the truth of the matter is that love is better felt than seen or heard or even read about, and at the end of the day, I have to admit that I felt it being there, too.