Derrick Lewis, ‘Black Beast’ [28-12-0], faced Rodrigo Nascimento [11-2-0] at the UFC Fight Night main event at Enterprise Center in St. Louis on Saturday night, May 11th, 2024. After three solid rounds, Lewis completely dominated his opponent in the third round with a TKO.
The fight opened with a head kick by Lewis before a fiery exchange of blows. They soon got into a clinch, where Lewis landed a takedown, but they were soon back up in a clinch. Nascimento used the double collar tie and landed some knee strikes before disengaging. Lewis landed a solid right before his opponent secured a takedown before going for a half-guard. Nascimento slowly advanced into full mount, but Lewis reversed position before the round ended.
Nascimento threw a big swing early in round two, but Lewis responded with a counterpunch and was soon in a clinch. Lewis landed hard body shots before attempting a trip takedown that dropped him instead. Nascimento immediately went to work and got his back, where he landed hard elbow shots till the round ended.
Like all heavyweight fights, the two fighters were already tired by the third round. But Lewis Followed the advice of his coach who suggested he ignores Greco Roman wrestling and knock his opponent out instead. He landed a nice overhand to the temple that dropped 31-year-old Nascimento. Lewis followed with an onslaught of deadly shots that led to a referee stoppage.
As his usual crazy post-fight antics, Lewis took off his fight trunks to fan his stricken opponent Nascimento, who was momentarily dazed on the canvas. The 39-year-old hilariously flashed the crowd by pulling down his shorts and mooning them. He also threw his groin cup into the crowd to offer it as a souvenir. It was caught by a fan who later came to the press conference to ask for an autograph. Following his display, Lewis went on to thank UFC “I appreciate St Louis for letting me show my naked ass tonight” He also said, “I couldn’t let no taxi cab driver from Brazil beat me. This is my first time ever hearing of that guy. Aint no way I can let somebody out there beat me”.
The win marked Lewis’s 15th UFC knockout win, the most in sports history, while his opponent secured his second loss since 2020.
