The UFC is reportedly gearing up for a return to Nashville, Tennessee, with a Fight Night card featuring Derrick Lewis at the top of the lineup.
On Wednesday, MMA journalist Laerte Viana reported on social media that Lewis is set to headline a non-pay-per-view event on July 12 against Tallison Teixeira, with the venue yet to be determined.
“The Black Beast” will be returning to the Octagon for his comeback after more than a year away. His last appearance came in May 2024, when he delivered a third-round knockout victory over Rodrigo Nascimento.
Lewis has struggled with consistency in the UFC, going 3-5 in his last eight outings. Among those setbacks is a lopsided knockout loss to Ciryl Gane in their interim heavyweight title clash at UFC 265 in August 2021. He holds a 19-10 record inside the Octagon, with a staggering 15 of those victories coming by knockout.
Meanwhile, Teixeira, the tallest active fighter in the UFC at 6’8″, made his promotional debut at UFC 312 in February, where he secured a blistering 35-second knockout victory over Justin Tafa. “Xicao” earned his shot in the UFC with a first-round knockout of Arthur Lopes on Dana White’s Contender Series in September 2024.
he 25-year-old Brazilian has maintained a flawless professional record, securing all eight of his victories by stoppage — seven by knockout and one via submission.
UFC not even trying anymore… This would be a shit main event even for the empty Apex! Card quality has gone down the drain completely and it appears that UFC has no interest in changing course anytime soon. I know they are seeing all the negative feedback from fans. They have gotten way too comfortable churning out slop the last 2 years. I’m afraid they are going to start losing fans.
I’m a massive Derrick Lewis fan and this is shit
This is the main event too btw
MMA Guru is right
Good test for Tallison.
RIP hot balls
Because Black Beast is a bigger name than most. When he gets in the octagon, he’ll have that crowd behind him more than 90% of ranked fighters would.
Someone on here was recently talking about the need to consciously build American fighters (as they did with O’Malley). This is an example of why.
As well as these fights, UFC has confirmed reports of five more fights on the Nashville card, pushing the event total up to nine (subject to change):
- Derrick Lewis vs. Tallison Teixeira; heavy main event
- Calvin Kattar vs. Steve Garcia; feather
- Jake Matthews vs. Chidi Njokuani; welter
- Chris Curtis vs. Max Griffin; welter
- Lauren Murphy vs. Eduarda Moura; fly
- Fatima Kline vs. Melissa Martinez; straw
- Vitor Petrino vs. Austen Lane; heavy
- Ateba Gautier vs. Robert Valentin; middle
- Junior Tafa vs. Tuco Tokkos; heavy
I take it they’re not charging to view this fight.