Derrick Lewis extended his lead as the UFC’s heavyweight division’s all-time knockout leader with a third-round TKO of Rodrigo Nascimento in the main event of UFC Fight Night at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis.
And in true Derrick Lewis fashion, after the stoppage he took off his fight shorts, fanned his fallen opponent with them, launched his protective cups and gloves into the crowd and, for good measure, had the fans look about him. To pulled down his underwear. Backyard.
“I appreciate St. Louis for allowing me to show my naked ass tonight,” said Lewis, who is from Houston, Texas. “I couldn’t let any Brazilian taxi driver beat me to it.”
In the end it took a little longer than Lewis expected. But that was because he wanted to show off his wrestling in the fight before heeding his corner’s request and finishing the job at the 49-second mark of the third round. The knockout was Lewis’ 15th in the UFC and puts him two ahead of Frank Mir (13) and Stipe Miocic (9) as UFC heavyweight champions. Lewis is the only active heavyweight in the top 10 in knockout finishes.
Nicknamed “The Black Beast,” Lewis (28-12 MMA, 19-10 UFC) entered the fight ranked No. 12 by the UFC in the heavyweight division and had gone 2-5 in his previous seven fights. Nascimento’s knockout following a loss to Zelton Almeida in November 2023 brought him back into the win column.
Lewis clubbed Nascimento (11-2 MMA, 4-2 UFC) with a right hand and scored a takedown early, something he promised to do during fight week. Lewis stunned his opponent with a leg trip, but the Brazilian got back to his feet. After the two separated, Lewis attempted a switch kick and combination, but Nascimento took his place and secured the takedown.
With a healthy mix of punches and short elbows, Nascimento eventually attempted to reach full mount, but Lewis managed to sweep and finish in half guard to end the early round.
Lewis wrestled briefly in the second round and returned to his striking roots, clubbing Nascimento with rights and lefts in the opening minutes. Nascimento grabbed Lewis to slow down the striking but was hit with an inside uppercut. Another attack from Lewis stunned the Brazilian, but he managed to remain upright. However, an unfortunate leg trip attempt from Lewis caused Nascimento to withdraw with just over a minute remaining in the round.
Instead of fishing for a choke, Nascimento took a breather and forced his way into half guard to end the round with ground-and-pound.
Lewis’s corner had been seen enough and he implored him to finish the job with his striking. Lewis obliged and entered the third round focusing on the knockout. Just seconds into the round, Lewis floored Nascimento with a right hand that turned the Brazilian’s legs into spaghetti. A few more follow-up strikes sent Nascimento to the canvas and the victory was sealed with some wicked ground-and-pound shortly afterwards.
