Heavyweight Derrick Lewis needed only 35 seconds to end the undefeated run of Tallison Teixeira with a left hook in the main event of UFC Fight Night on Saturday night in Nashville.
The 40-year-old Lewis (29-12 MMA, 20-10 UFC) secured the TKO in the first round to earn back-to-back stoppage victories and hand Teixeira, 25, his first loss in nine MMA bouts.
Lewis said that immediately following the fight, before his interview in the Octagon, he received a congratulatory call from President Donald Trump, and the fight could barely put his reaction into words.
As for the fight itself, Lewis did not have too many kind words for Teixeira, a Brazilian who entered the contest as one of the promotion’s rising heavyweight prospects.
“I just knew he had been fighting tomato cans,” Lewis said.
Brazilian welterweight Gabriel Bonfim squeaked out a split decision against former UFC welterweight title challenger Stephen Thompson in the co-headliner. Bonfim won on two of the three judges’ scorecards — 29-28, 28-29, 29-28 in a back-and-forth affair.
The 27-year-old Bonfim (18-1 MMA) has won six of his last UFC seven bouts, while the 42-year-old Thompson (17-9-1 MMA) saw his losing skid increase to three.
Featherweight Steve Garcia extended his win streak to six, defeating Calvin Kattar by unanimous decision, 30-27 on every scorecard.
Using productive striking and unorthodox angles, Garcia (18-5) landed 34 percent of his combinations compared to 21 percent for Kattars (23-10). The Massachusetts native has dropped five consecutive fights.
French featherweight Morgan Charriere silenced the Bridgestone Arena audience by knocking out home-state fan favorite Nate Landwehr 27 seconds into Round 3.
Charriere (21-11-1) has won six of his last eight, securing his 13th KO/TKO victory. Landwehr (18-7 MMA) has dropped three of his previous four amid back-to-back defeats.
In his first fight since moving from light heavyweight to heavyweight, Brazil’s Vitor Petrino needed under a round to submit former NFL defensive end Austen Lane by rear-naked choke at 4:16.
Petrino (12-2) now has nine finishes in his career, whereas Lane (13-7) has lost back-to-back fights to fall to 1-4 in the UFC.
Light heavyweights kicked off the UFC Nashville main card, as England’s Tuco Tukkos secured a head-and-arm choke at 4:25 of Round 2 against Australian Junior Tafa. The win marked Tukkos’ (11-5 MMA) first UFC win in three matcheds, securing his third career MMA victory by submission. Tafa (6-4 MMA) has dropped four of his last six, still seeking back-to-back wins for the first time since 2022.
-Field Level Media
