Fearsome 6´7” UFC heavyweight giant debuted with 35-second KO vs. fan favorite

One half of this weekend’s UFC Nashville main event will try to vault into the ranks of the heavyweight elite in his just second Octagon appearance.

The world’s leading MMA promotion took a week off following International Fight Week and a UFC 317 card that saw Ilia Topuria knock out Charles Oliveira to claim the vacant lightweight belt, but the UFC returns this week in Nashville to kick off a three-week stretch of road events that also includes stops in New Orleans and Abu Dhabi.

Former heavyweight title challenger Derrick Lewis looks to add to his already record number of knockouts in the UFC Nashville main event, and standing across from him will be undefeated Brazilian Tallison Teixeira.

Standing at an imposing 6’7”, Teixeira won his pro MMA debut via submission in 2021 and knocked out the next five opponents he faced to earn a crack at a UFC contract on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2024.

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A knockout-win over Arthur Lopes maintained Teixeira’s perfect streak of first-round finishes and booked his place in the UFC. The 25-year-old was originally slated to debut against Łukasz Brzeski at UFC 310, but after withdrawing due to injury Teixeira was rebooked to meet Justin Tafa at UFC 312 last February.

Tafa had collected four first-round knockouts in the UFC already but entered UFC 312 after dropping a decision to Karl Williams, and Teixeira immediately introduced himself to UFC fans when he stopped the fan favorite in just 35 seconds on the pay-per-view portion of the card.

Teixeira’s victory was only the second knockout at UFC 312 after Quillan Salkilld kicked off the night with a 19-second finish against Anshul Jubli, and statement-win on a major UFC card was enough to put the Brazilian in the heavyweight rankings and set up a main event against Lewis.

Currently ranked four spots ahead of Teixeira at #9 in the heavyweight pecking order, Lewis has been out of action for more than a year after he finished Rodrigo Nascimento in the third round of their UFC St. Louis headliner in May of last year.

“The Black Beast” challenged Daniel Cormier for the undisputed heavyweight title in 2018 and also fought Ciryl Gane for the division’s interim belt in 2021. The UFC’s all-time leader in knockouts, Lewis’ first Octagon appearance in 2015 came six years before Texeira had even made his pro debut.

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MMA fans and the UFC brass presumably don’t expect the UFC Nashville main event to go the distance, and on Saturday night Lewis will either add to his knockout record or Teixeira will score a massive win and vault into the heavyweight Top 10 after just two fights in the UFC.

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