The UFC’s all time knockout leader, Derrick Lewis, beat Rodrigo Nascimiento in violent fashion in the UFC St. Louis main event on Saturday.
At age 39, Lewis said he feels better than ever after recovering from a series of injuries, but the question was if his legendary heavy hands would be enough to stifle Rodrigo Nascimiento’s jiu-jitsu and youth. With a three-fight winning streak to his name, Brazil’s Nascimiento wanted to become a true contender with this fight, but when the dust settled he was just another contender who fell to the Black Beast.
The two met in the middle and swung to start but quickly ended up in a clinch situation. Surprisingly, it was Lewis who took down Nascimiento from there, though the Brazilian stood right back up. When Rodrigo took Derrick down, however, Lewis was not able to execute his infamous ‘just stand up’ move. However, right before the end of the round Lewis was able to reverse the position.
The second round started out as a clinchfest with the fighters trading position until Nascimiento was finally able to take Lewis down and take his back. Lewis had a chance to get up, but Rodrigo was faster and got on top on half-guard until the end of the round.
The third round proved to be the final one. Early on, Lewis landed an overhand right which knocked down his opponent. Nascimiento tried to grab the Black Beast’s leg to survive, but only succeeded in delaying the inevitable. Derrick Lewis simply rained down punches from an awkward position until the referee had to stop the fight.
With this victory, a fan favorite extended his lead as the greatest knockout artist in UFC history and proved that even nearing his fortieth birthday he was still dangerous enough to put away rising challengers who looked to steal his spot.
In a callback to arguably his last legendary moment, Derrick Lewis took off his shorts immediately after the fight (and even mooned the St. Louis crowd, who responded good naturedly with another cheer). Although he said he is getting “too old for this ****,” he also said that he is in his prime in the lead up to this fight, so fans should know by now that they never know what the Black Beast will say next, and enjoy him while he is here.
🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑#UFCStLouis | @TheBeast_UFC https://t.co/NexAigcFho pic.twitter.com/5ICPwfEjTC
— UFC (@ufc) May 12, 2024
Official Result: Derrick Lewis def. Rodrigo Nascimiento by TKO (punches) Round 3, 0:49
