The last thing UFC heavyweight Derrick Lewis foresaw in his professional career was a journey to the depths of the southern hemisphere for a potential milestone fight.

But that's exactly where the Louisiana native finds himself as he eyes a June 12th date in the octagon with New Zealand's Mark Hunt at the UFC Fight Night in Auckland.

"The only thing I know about New Zealand is the rugby team – the 'Black Skins' or the 'Black Shirts' or something like that?" Lewis told Newshub.

However the 32-year-old's intentions are much more sinister than mere sightseeing, looking to pit his explosive punching power against Hunt's in what will be a seismic collision of raw brute force.

Both Lewis and Hunt care little for the finer arts of grappling or jiu-jitsu and the expectation for their main event should be nothing less than a square-up slugfest.

It's the very reason Lewis asked for the South Aucklander by name following his emphatic knock-out of the future Mr Ronda Rousey, Travis Browne, back in February.

"It's just stylistic. Mark Hunt comes forward, he doesn't make it a boring fight and he'll bring out the better fighter in myself."

And the parallels between these two heavyweights extend well beyond the cage.

Lewis, much like Hunt, was raised in a cocoon of violence amid impossibly impoverished circumstances, enduring daily beatings from his stepfather who was equally belligerent towards his mother.

They were undoubtedly dark times, but Lewis also believes they were ultimately responsible for shaping him into a hard-nosed competitor.

"Going through a 20 minute fight is easier than going through all the stuff I went through as a child…it all adds to the mental.

"I believe it really gave me strength."

The teenager and his mother eventually fled to Texas found a positive outlet for his anger at a local gym where he dabbled with both boxing and MMA before opting, much to the disappointment of his trainers, to commit to the latter.

It was during a three and a half year prison stay for aggravated assault - a result of self-defense when pursed by the ex-husband of his then girlfiend - when Lewis genuinely found his focus and committed himself wholeheartedly to the sport.