Derrick Lewis starred in a night that will be etched in the memory of UFC fans. The eleven-year veteran in the competition achieved a knockout in the first round, received a call from the President of the United States, and stripped off his pants in the center of the octagon. Lewis (29-12) knocked out Tallison Teixeira (8-1) at 35 seconds into the heavyweight main event at Saturday’s UFC Fight Night in Nashville, Tennessee. A left hook sent Teixeira to the canvas in the first minute, followed by right-hand strikes that forced referee Jason Herzog to intervene. With this victory, Lewis extends his UFC knockout record to 16. Teixeira, a 25-year-old Brazilian prospect, protested the referee’s decision, and could have a point in his favor. He got up after the first blow, but received so many unanswered blows that Herzog’s decision was difficult to question.
“They were talking shit all week,” Lewis said of Teixeira’s team. “I don’t speak much Portuguese, but I knew they were talking bad about me. I knew he’d been fighting easy opponents his whole career.”
Derrick LewisThe ending was a Lewis classic, as was the post-fight celebration. He immediately took off his shorts, something he had already done at UFC 229 in 2018, before apparently accepting a call from then-U.S. President Donald Trump on UFC CEO Dana White’s phone inside the octagon. Lewis, a long-time fan favorite, has quietly returned to contention for the heavyweight title after an 0-3 skid between 2022 and 2023. Since losing three straight fights, he is 3-1 in his last four appearances, with knockouts in his three wins. His only loss in this four-fight stretch was to Jailton Almeida by decision in November 2023. Lewis was a clear underdog in the betting on Saturday. Teixeira, who only had one appearance in the UFC before this heavyweight fight, now has a 1-1 record inside the octagon.
