WICHITA, Kan. – UFC heavyweight star Derrick Lewis asked for a raise when it became clear the promotion wanted him on-call.

An offer to fight ex-champion Cain Velasquez last month at UFC on ESPN 1 came right after another to face ex-champion Stipe Miocic in January. This was after Lewis (21-7 MMA, 12-5 UFC) had asked the promotion for some time off following two fights in 28 days to close out 2018, the latter of which was a loss to champ Daniel Cormier in another short-notice fight at UFC 230 in November.

Lewis then accepted a matchup in Saturday’s headliner with ex-champ Junior Dos Santos (20-5 MMA, 14-4 UFC) at UFC on ESPN+ 4, but it came with a catch.

“I’m like, I told you all I wanted some time off,” Lewis told MMA Junkie on Wednesday. “Then I told my manager we can go ahead and renegotiate the contract, because they’re not wanting to give me time off. They came back with Dos Santos, and I said, ‘OK, I’ll fight him.’ They were saying it was going to be in March. I said, ‘That’s even better.'”

Although the “Black Beast” isn’t too happy about the frigid temperature in Wichita, where he faces Dos Santos in the headliner at INTRUST Bank Arena, he couldn’t be more content with the resulting deal he signed.

So content, in fact, that he brushed off his manager’s idea of pushing for more money.

“It doesn’t matter if they like me or not,” Lewis said. “I’m really happy with my contract. I wish I could say more about it, but even though some numbers are going to pop up after the fight, it still won’t do it any justice.”

Lewis, 34, once estimated his last-second knockout of Alexander Volkov at UFC 229 was worth $1 million for the title shot it got him. Now that he’s been compensated extra for an unpredictable schedule against top-notch contenders, he’s got no complaints. It doesn’t change anything about the job requirements, or the demands back home.

“My kids are acting like I’m rich anyway, so they always want to buy this and buy that, and go here and go there,” Lewis said. “So I’m really doing it for them. I just want to make sure they’re happy and my wife is happy.

“Especially all my family members coming out of the woodwork, saying everybody not able and this and this, they need this and they need that. Oh, they’re behind on these bills, and they need help. So of course, I’ve got to keep going.”

By all indications, Lewis is a breakout star win or lose for his knockout performances and a one-of-a-kind personality. His job appears safe for the foreseeable future..

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