UFC superstar Derrick Lewis has admitted to being “tricked” into fighting Brazilian Jailton Almeida in Sao Paulo this Sunday – revealing he would never have taken the fight he had known it was in South America.

The revelation comes as ‘The Black Beast’ also rejected talk of a potential boxing switch, urged the UFC to rematch him with Tai Tuivasa in 2024, and also backed Alexander Volkanovski’s push to get back into the Octagon as soon as possible.

Already owning the most knockouts in UFC history, 38-year-old Lewis is set to extend another record Sunday in his 11th headliner — the most of any UFC fighter who has never won a title.

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Despite being parachuted into the main event just three weeks ago – as a replacement for the injured Curtis Blaydes – Lewis is convinced he can upset rising Brazilian star Almeida, who has finished all five of his UFC rivals, including four in the first round.

Speaking with Fox Sports Australia on Wednesday, the 38-year-old also revealed he would never have accepted the fight if he knew it was in Brazil — joking that he is being taxed so heavily he will basically fight “for nothing”.

With a laugh, The Beast also suggested he was struggling to find a decent meal in Sao Paulo while also nursing a bad back following his flight from Texas.

Asked about accepting the fight on late notice, Lewis started: “We’d been calling the UFC for a while trying to get a fight before the year was out, but they kept saying everything was booked up.

“There were also a couple of guys that didn’t want to fight me so we just said ‘OK, that’s fine’.

“Then a few weeks ago we got a call about this guy (Almeida) and I just agreed straight away.

“I didn’t know the fight was in Brazil though.

“It was only after accepting that they told me.

“I’d always said to my manager I would never fight in Brazil because of the taxes being so bad.

“(Laughs) So I got tricked into accepting this fight …”

So you wouldn’t have accepted had your team told you it was in Brazil?

“No, I wouldn’t have taken it,” Lewis conceded.

“Not at all.

“I said I didn’t want to fight here and, since arriving, nuthin’ has changed.

“I can’t wait to go home.”

Surely the taxes aren’t worse than, say, Australia?

“It’s bad,” he cackled.

“I’m basically fighting for them (the government) right now.

“I’m not getting anything out of it.

“By the time I pay my coaches and so on – it’s not even worth it.

“(Laughs) And that’s if I don’t get pickpocketed here.

“Plus I can’t eat none of the food.

“I’m not trusting it, I’ll end up sick.”

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According to the TAB, Lewis is a $4.75 betting outsider against Almeida, the $1.18 favourite.

Yet while he may not be expecting much of an earn come Sunday, Lewis does intend to upset Almeida – “I shouldn’t have no problem defeating this guy” – before then rematching Tuivasa next year.

Asked what he knew of the Brazilian, Lewis said: “I haven’t seen any video of him.

“My coaches have though, have talked about his ground game, his front kick – I need to watch out for that.

“But other than that, there’s not too much for me to worry about. I feel like I shouldn’t have no problem defeating this guy.

“Instead of waiting around for my opponent to do something, I’m going to go out there and do what I want to do.”

Then, he would happily sign off on a rematch with Tuivasa — Australia’s cult heavyweight who iced him with a spectacular elbow at UFC 271.

After the Tuivasa loss, Lewis then dropped two more fights against Sergei Pavlovich and Sergey Spivach before then icing Marcos Rogério de Lima in July.

Currently, Almeida is ranked No.9 among UFC heavyweights, with Lewis a place behind him.

Tuivasa, meanwhile, now sits at No.8 after dropping three straight.

“So for sure I want to run it back with Tai,” said Lewis, who also made headlines in the US this week following revelations he was recently pinged driving his red Lamborghini three times the legal limit in a 50mph zone.

“He’s a cool guy and I have nothing but respect for him.

“I love his fighting style and I’m happy he made it this far in his career.

“We knew in that fight he would come in with a lot of power.

“But it was more about me backing up, backing off the gas whenever I had him in a bad position.

“Then he saw an opening and took it, that’s all.”

Elsewhere, Lewis also revealed he has little interest in a switch to boxing, and said he had not even watched Francis Ngannou almost upset WBC heavyweight king Tyson Fury last weekend.

Back in 2018, Lewis earned a unanimous decision win over the future UFC champion – the last MMA fighter to do so – leaving many experts to question aloud how he would do in boxing after Ngannou’s sudden success.

So as for the Beast’s thought?

“I didn’t even watch the fight,” he shrugged.

“I’m in a great spot right now.

“And I love the UFC more than boxing, anyway.

“I watch MMA more, love MMA more.”

So no chance of ever making the switch?

“Oh, s… if they throw some good money at me, maybe,” he shrugged. “You never say never.”

The American also backed Volkanovski’s push to get back into the Octagon quickly following his KO loss against UFC lightweight champ Islam Makhachev.

Despite being kayoed by a devastating head kick in the first round, Lewis said the UFC featherweight champ was right to push for a January title defence against Ilia Topuria.

“Personally, I like to get back in there as soon as possible,” he said.

“Especially if you’ve lost twice to a guy.

“Otherwise you will be thinking about that for a long time and it can start to wear you down. A loss like that, you want to put it behind you.”