The UFC came to Nashville on Saturday with a 12-fight card which evenly split the bouts between the main card and the undercard. The last few fights of the night at UFC Nashville had the changing of the guard theme, as a few aging fan favorites faced off against hungry young talent.
In the co-main event, Stephen Thompson was narrowly edged out of a decision opposite of Gabriel Bonfim. And in the main event, the all-time leader in KOs in the UFC, Derrick Lewis, delivered yet again, with a first-round knockout of hot prospect Tallison Teixeira. A few vets as well as a couple of fighters that have never found their footing within the promotion feature on this edition of losers matchmaker.
Tallison Teixeira
Derrick Lewis took just 35 seconds to stop Tallison Teixeira in the main event of UFC Nashville. This was just Teixeira’s second fight within the UFC. Tallison was signed last year after his first-round finish of Authur Lopes on the Contender Series. Teixeira’s sole win with the promotion was a 35 second destruction of Justin Tafa back in February. Lewis entered this fight ranked at #9 while Teixeira was ranked at #13. Just too much too soon for the prospect.
It’s the first loss of the 25-year-old’s nine-fight MMA career, but he is still incredibly early on. A good next opponent for Tallison would be Mick Parkin. Mick is 4-1 since being signed during the 2022 season of the Contender Series. Parkin was last in action back in March when he lost a unanimous decision to fellow ranked heavyweight, Marcin Tybura. Mick is currently ranked at #12 in the division so this would be a nice match up for him. Likely would be a striking heavy affair- one that fans could probably expect to see on the main card of a Fight Night.
Teixeira’s next fight: Mick Parkin
Stephen Thompson
Gabriel Bonfim narrowly defeated Stephen Thompson in an exciting back and forth striking battle at UFC Nashville on Saturday. Stephen entered the fight ranked at #12 within the UFC’s welterweight division while his opponent was unranked.
With the loss on Saturday, Wonderboy, who is now 42 years old, has amassed a three-fight losing streak. Thompson’s last victory came in December of 2022 against Kevin Holland.
At this point fun fights are the only option for Thompson. He’s soon to be out of the rankings as well. Why not a fight with ‘The Action Man’ Chris Curtis? Chris had his first UFC fight a 170lbs. on Saturday, winning a split decision against Max Griffin in the feature prelim. A gritty, active and boxing-heavy fighter, a matchup against Wonderboy would be an exciting bout and a cool clash of standup styles. Fight would also mean something as Curtis is now on the rise towards a ranking in the welterweight division. Thompson is a fan favorite and former title challenger, but he likely only has a couple more fights left maximum. Why not keep them striking heavy?
Thompson’s next fight: Chris Curtis
Calvin Kattar
Calvin Kattar lost a competitive fight to Steve Garcia on the main card of UFC Nashville on Saturday. Kattar entered the fight ranked at #14 within the UFC’s featherweight division, while Garcia entered the fight unranked. Kattar has now lost five fights in a row and has not been in the win column since his January 2022 victory over Giga Chikadze.
Bottom line- Kattar needs a win. Now 37, Kattar will slip out of the rankings and likely face a prospect looking to make a name for themselves. An interesting next matchup would be against a fighter like Jose Delgado. The 27-year-old 2024 Contender Series alum has competed just twice within the UFC. Jose has scored a pair of first round finishes this year stopping Connor Matthews in February and an 11-0 Hyder Amil last month. Delgado is dangerous and has stopped all 10 of his pro victories. Thwarting a young hungry fighter like this would prove Kattar still belongs and fast track him back towards the rankings.
Kattar’s next fight: Jose Delgado
Nate Landwehr
Morgan Charriere melted Nate Landwehr early in the final round of what was an action-packed fight on the main card of UFC Nashville on Saturday. The fight would go on to win fight of the night honors as Landwehr put on a gutsy display, as he often does, on the way to losing his third fight in his last four. Nate is now 5-5 with the promotion.
The perfect next fight for Landwehr is Billy Quarantillo. This one is a no brainer; can’t believe it hasn’t been booked previously. Billy has also lost three of his last four fights. He’s got a similar record in the UFC to Nate at 6-5. Both men have never been in a boring scrap. This one would all but be a guaranteed fight of the night. And the winner would be about a win or two away from a shot at having a ranking.
Landwehr’s next fight: Billy Quarantillo
Austen Lane
Austen Lane dropped another fight after he was submitted late in the first round of his bout with Vitor Petrino on Saturday. Lane has now gone 1-4, 1 NC during his nearly three-year stint with the UFC. Lane is a product of the Contender Series where he earned redemption for his 2018 DWCS loss (opposite of Greg Hardy) with a finish over Richard Jacobi in 2022 to earn a UFC contract.
To say that Lane has struggled would be a massive understatement. Lane’s lone win with the promotion came in October of 2024 with a unanimous division victory over Robelis Despaigne. If the UFC’s heavyweight division wasn’t so shallow, Lane would likely have already have received the boot from the roster.
Lane’s next fight should be against the loser of Ryan Spann vs Lukasz Brezeski who are scheduled to fight at UFC 318 on July 19th. Timing would matchup well as they are competing just one week apart. Spann has lost four of his last five bouts. His last fight came back in March, which was his first appearance at heavyweight, a second round TKO at the hands of Waldo Cortes-Acosta. Brezeski is 1-5 with the promotion, with is only win coming to Valter Walker in April of 2024. Loser of the bout facing Lane would make sense and at this point, the loser of that bout would likely be cut by the UFC.
Lane’s next fight: Ryan Spann vs Lukasz Brezeski loser
Junior Tafa
Tuco Tokkos submitted Junior Tafa in the second round of their bout on Saturday to kick off the main card of UFC Nashville. The fight was Tafa’s first a 205lbs. as he had previously exclusively competed at heavyweight for the duration of his professional fight career.
Tafa is on the hot seat as he is 2-4 within the UFC, since being signed in early 2023.
If Tafa was still at heavyweight, an easy pick here would be Austen Lane. Loser essentially deserves to be let go from the promotion. However, if Tafa elects to stay at light heavyweight- and he likely will- his next fight should be against Ivan Erslan. Ivan is 0-2 in the UFC since being signed in 2024. He lost his debut to Ion Cutelaba via split decision. Most recently, Ivan lost a unanimous decision to Navajo Stirling at UFC 315 in May. Loser of this fight would really have to make a hard case to keep their job with the promotion. Banger fight though, as the styles and stakes have a high chance to produce a finish in this matchup.
Junior’s next fight: Ivan Erslan
