Derrick Lewis was too much, too soon for Brazilian prospect Tallison Teixeira.
The rising heavyweight, who less than a year ago wasn’t even on the UFC roster, had his undefeated record snapped in less than a minute by promotional vet Derrick Lewis on Saturday night. The lightning-quick win headlined a Fight Night card from the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee.
Teixeira is known for quick finishes, having never left the first round in a pro fight. And in the opening seconds of his fight on Saturday, it looked like he was once again en route to another quick win, wobbling Lewis with a quick jab in the first few moments of the bout.
But momentum swung Lewis’ way just moments later, leading to the finish. Squinting due to the jab, Lewis came forward with wild hooks, hoping one would connect. After whiffing on a few, a left hand scored clean, sending Teixeira to the canvas.
Lewis followed Teixeira to the ground, where he pieced together punches to the head as the stunned talent worked his way back up to the feet. After Teixeira returned to a stand-up position, using the cage to pull himself up along the way, Jason Herzog decided he had seen enough
Herzog stepped in just 35 seconds into the fight, ending the main event and extending Lewis’ UFC record for most KO/TKO wins. Teixeira was visibly upset by the result, protesting to the referee immediately afterward.
Teixeira entered this weekend as the favorite, riding the momentum of, coincidentally, a 35-second UFC debut win earlier this year against Justin Tafa, putting him away with strikes.
The 25-year-old was thrown into a massive step-up challenge this weekend, just months removed from joining the UFC. Despite never exiting the first, he was preparing to potentially go five rounds on Saturday. And while he had never previously faced someone with more than seven wins, he took on Lewis, who has obtained 20 UFC victories since his promotional debut in 2014.
Texieira crumbled under the pressure, instead giving up the spotlight to a fan favorite at heavyweight.
“I just knew he’d been fighting tomato cans his whole career,” Lewis said in his post-fight interview.
Lewis was returning for the first time in over a year, following up on a third-round main event win he scored against Rodrigo Nascimento in 2024. He has now pieced together a multi-fight win streak for the first time since 2021, when a series of successful outings put him into an interim title bout with Ciryl Gane.
With his 16th TKO/KO in the UFC cage, Lewis has three more finishes than anyone else in the promotion’s history, and five more than any active talent. The Texas-based fighter has never gotten a title around his waist, but he holds a record in the promotion that will take a long, long time to be broken.
Results
Main Card
- Derrick Lewis def. Tallison Teixeira via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 0:35)
- Gabriel Bonfim def. Stephen Thompson via Decision, Unanimous
- Steve Garcia def. Calvin Kattar via Decision, Unanimous
- Morgan Charriere def. Nate Landwehr via TKO, Strikes (RD 3, 0:27)
- Vitor Petrino def. Austen Lane via Submission, Rear Naked Choke (RD 1, 4:16)
- Tuco Tokkos def. Junior Tafa via Submission, Arm Triangle Choke (RD 2, 4:52)
Preliminary Card
- Chris Curtis def. Max Griffin via Decision, Split
- Jake Matthews def. Chidi Njokuani via Submission, Rear Naked Choke (RD 1, 1:09)
- Eduarda Moura def. Lauren Murphy via Decision, Unanimous
- Valter Walker def. Kennedy Nzechukwu via Submission, Heel Hook (RD 1, 0:54)
- Mike Davis def. Mitch Ramirez via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 4:08)
- Fatima Kline def. Melissa Martinez via TKO, Strikes (RD 3, 2:36)
