Derrick Lewis extended his lead as the all-time knockout leader in the UFC heavyweight division with a third-round TKO over Rodrigo Nascimento in the main event of UFC Fight Night at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis.
And in true Derrick Lewis style, after the stoppage, he took off his fighting shorts, fanned his fallen opponent with them, tossed his protective cup and gloves into the crowd and, for good measure, pulled down his underwear. to give fans a view of her butt.
“I appreciate St. Louis for allowing me to show my bare butt tonight,” said Lewis, a native of Houston, Texas. “I couldn't let any Brazilian taxi driver beat me.”
The ending took a little longer than Lewis would have expected. But it was because he wanted to show off his fight early 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 put him two ahead of Frank Mir (13) with UFC heavyweight Stipe Miocic (9). 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 last seven fights. Nascimento's knockout returned him to the win column after a November 2023 loss to Jailton Almeida.
Lewis hit Nascimento (11-2 MMA, 4-2 UFC) with his right hand and went for an early takedown, something he vowed to do during fight week. Lewis surprised his opponent with a leg trip, but the Brazilian got back to his feet. After the two disengaged, Lewis attempted a switch kick and combination, but Nascimento filled his space and secured a takedown of his own.
With a healthy combination of punches and short elbows, Nascimento finally worked his way into a full mount, but Lewis managed to sweep and ended up in half guard to close out the first round.
Lewis briefly opted not to fight in the second round and returned to his striking roots, pummeling Nascimento in the first minute with rights and lefts. Nascimento grabbed Lewis to stop the blow, but received an inside hook. Another volley from Lewis shook the Brazilian, but he managed to stay on his feet. However, an unfortunate attempt by Lewis to take a leg trip saw Nascimento recover it with just over a minute left in the round.
Instead of going for a choke, Nascimento took a deep breath and maneuvered himself into half guard to finish the round with a ground and pound.
Lewis' corner had seen enough and begged him to do the job with his punches. Lewis obeyed and entered the third round focused on the knockout. Just seconds into the round, Lewis leveled Nascimento with a right hand that turned the Brazilian's legs into spaghetti. A few more blows sent Nascimento to the canvas and the seal of victory came shortly after with a terrifying smash and strike.
“I'm going to sit my black ass down for a second,” Lewis, 39, said of what the future holds after the victory. “I'm getting too old for this s—.”
