UFC Nashville Main Event Preview and Prediction: Derrick Lewis – Tallison Teixeira

Tomorrow night, the UFC heads to Nashville and the main event promises fireworks. The all time knockout king of the promotion makes his return as “The Black Beast” Derrick Lewis (28-12) takes on the undefeated Tallison Teixeira (8-0).

If you want to watch a fight where you can take the phrase “don’t blink” and take it literally, this is the fight for you. Starting with Teixeira, he enters the octagon with a 100% finish rate. He made his MMA debut back in 2021 and he’s finished all eight of his opponents in the first round. After earning a contract on The Contender Series last September, he debuted in the UFC with a 35 second knockout of Justin Tafa back in February.

Tomorrow night, he’ll have to be on his game as he takes on Derrick Lewis. At this point, you know what The Black Beast is all about. He’s either going to knock someone out or he might get finished himself. The last time we saw him was in St. Louis last May when he stopped Rodrigo Nascimento in the third round. He’s 2-1 in his last three after having a rough stretch where he was 1-4 with four stoppage losses. He’ll be looking to take Teixeira’s 0 at UFC Nashville.

UFC Nashville Prediction

When it comes to a fight like this, there isn’t that much to break down in terms of the technicals. Both of these men are looking to strike and they’re both going to be looking for the knockout right away. That said, if anyone looks to wrestle, don’t be shocked if we see Derrick Lewis look for takedowns.

There might not be a more terrifying heavyweight than Derrick Lewis when he’s on top of opponents. His ground and pound is disgusting and he’s a massive heavyweight. He might throw off Teixeira but trying to mix in a takedown which could lower the defenses of Teixeira and that would also open up some big shots from Lewis.

From a technical striking standpoint, there’s a big portion of me that believes that Teixeira will win this fight at UFC Nashville. I think the length will play to his advantage and he’s more technical of a striker. However, I always have a hard time picking against Derrick Lewis because it only takes one big shot.

I think that his coaches are going to have him mix in a couple of takedown attempts which are going to impact Teixeira and the way he is defensively. With that, I see Lewis landing something big and finishing this fight. Maybe it’s the fan in me, but I’m going with Derrick Lewis. If Teixeira does win, I wouldn’t be shocked if it starts with body shots. That said, I’m going with Derrick Lewis at UFC Nashville to add to his knockout record.

Prediction: Derrick Lewis by KO