Brendan Miller
Heavyweights take center stage at Saturday’s UFC Fight Night in St. Louis. Longtime fan favorite Derrick Lewis looks to build on his UFC knockout record against up-and-coming Rodrigo Nascimento.
Lewis (27-12) seeks his 15th UFC knockout on Saturday to build his legend as the company’s most prolific knockout artist. “The Black Beast” has traded blows with four UFC heavyweight champions (including interim), but appears to be in a competitive decline. Lewis has not had consecutive victories since 2021 and is 2-5 in his last seven fights. More recently, Lewis was defeated in a five-round fight by Jailton Almeida. Lewis, 39, insists he feels better than ever despite the difficult performances.
“My coaches and other people say when you get to 40 everything starts to slow down, but this is the best I’ve ever felt,” Lewis told CBS Sports. “These last two fights were the best I felt before a fight in training camp.
Nascimento (11-1) has the mentality of a younger fighter on a winning streak. Nascimento headlines his first UFC card after three straight decision wins. The “Contender Series” alum is primarily a submission finisher, but predicts he will have an advantage in all areas of the fight. That’s a lot of confidence for a fighter who has never gone more than three rounds facing his most talented opponent so far.
“I have many ways to beat him” Nascimento told reporters on Wednesday’s media day. “Putting him down is just one more way. I can strike, I can knock him out. I can finish him off or I can fight all five rounds.
“He has a good name and a good hype, but after this Saturday, everyone will know my name because I will beat him.”
The undercard isn’t the deepest the UFC has launched in recent months, but it should provide one or two intriguing moments. The co-main event brings back entertaining knockout artist Joaquin Buckley, as the veteran gets a homecoming moment against Nursulton Ruziboev. Buckley is coming off a destructive TKO over Vicente Luque in March and has scored two in his last three fights. Additionally, Carlos Ulberg and Alonzo Menifield will certainly take heat when they collide at light heavyweight. Ulberg has yet to reach the judges’ scorecards in his UFC career, while Menifield is on a five-fight unbeaten streak with three wins by stoppage.
Check out the full interview with Derrick Lewis below.
Below is the rest of the fight card for Saturday with the latest odds before we come up with a prediction and pick the main event.
UFC Fight Night card, odds
| Derrick Lewis-155 | Rodrigo Nascimento +130 | Heavy weight |
| Joaquim Buckley -135 | Nursulton Ruziboev +115 | Welterweight |
| Carlos Ulberg -270 | Alonzo Menifield +220 | Light heavyweight |
| Mateusz Rebecki -420 | Diego Ferreira -320 | Light |
| Sean Woodson-205 | Alex Caceres +175 | Feather weight |
| Robelis Despaigne -235 | Waldo Cortes-Acosta +195 | Heavy weight |
UFC Fight Night Viewing Information
Date: May 11 | Start time: 7pm ET (main card)
Location: Business Center – St.
Television channel: ESPN+
Prediction
Derrick Lewis x Rodrigo Nascimento: It’s always a risk to choose Lewis at this stage. The man obviously has record knockout power, but his durability has diminished. The two-time title challenger has been stopped in four of his last seven starts. Nascimento would be wise if he took the fight to the later rounds to reduce the remaining knockout threat. The problem is that I’m not impressed with Nascimento. He is on a three-fight decision win streak, including split decisions against former light heavyweight fighters Ilir Latifi and Tanner Boser. They were not inspiring performances. Nascimento started his UFC campaign very well – shrugging off a quick knockout loss to Chris Daukus – but his inability to win emphatically hurt his stock. Lewis can still hit. Despite his technical limitations, he has a lot of experience in fights with better skills than Nascimento. I see KO number 15 on the way. Lewis by KO 2
Who wins UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Nascimento and how exactly does each fight end? Visit SportsLine now for in-depth UFC Fight Night picksall from the MMA expert who cashed in more than $1,500 on his 2023 UFC main card picks, and find out.
