'Disgusting': Uproar over UFC fighter's shocking food crime

Derrick Lewis has been slammed by UFC fans after posting a video of himself spitting in the food of opponent Aleksei Oleinik.

Lewis, the UFC’s fourth-ranked heavyweight, will meet Oleinik in the main event of a Fight Night card at UFC Apex on Saturday.

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The 35-year-old is the favourite against his 43-year-old opponent, but that didn’t stop Lewis from trying to get one over Oleinik before the fight.

In a social media video that has sparked fan outrage, the American posted a video that shows him spitting in Oleinik’s food after it was mistakenly delivered to Lewis at the UFC’s Performance Centre.

“I believe it's missing some ingredients. We're still going to get him his meal; it's very important. It's fight week, I know he's going to be hungry,” Lewis says in the video.

“It looks good, right? I'm going to add some flavour to his food.

“He probably won't even notice. He's from Russia, they don't have any soul food over there.”

Lewis goes so far as to prove that he is indeed in possession of Oleinik’s food, however it remains unclear whether or not the Russian actually ate it.

“Jesus that’s disrespectful,” one fan commented on the video.

Another said: “Dude I am fan of yours but you just disrespected the food here. People are dying of hunger across the world and you did this?”

Others called it “disgusting”, while another added: "Now I hope Oleinik kicks his ass.”

Derrick Lewis reaping rewards of training seriously

Lewis has fought an impressive slate of heavyweights while compiling a 23-7 record, including 14-5 in the UFC, and going against the grain.

His body wouldn’t cooperate, but he still managed to make himself one of the best in the world.

But since Lewis had knee surgery last year, he feels he’s a completely different fighter. For the first time, he believes he can make a legitimate run at the heavyweight title and be successful.

Now that he’s healthy, he realises what he’s capable of accomplishing and so he’s not only getting into better shape, he’s working on developing his skills.

“For sure it was [frustrating to lose fights I was capable of winning] and I look back at a lot of those fights and it bothers me,” he said.

“It all boils down to my training. I used to train only 30 minutes a day.

“Since I fought D.C. [then-UFC heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier], I have started training a lot more. You might start seeing a slimmer version of me. I’ve been training more instead of just 30 minutes a day.

“Before, I didn’t have the cardio to go like I needed to. I wasn’t developing my game. I was just really relying on my power and not taking anything that seriously.”

with Yahoo Sports US