UFC Nashville headliner Derrick Lewis has been responsible for many of the most shocking moments seen inside the Octagon.
Before MMA’s leading promotion turns its attention back to pay-per-view action for Dustin Poirier’s retirement fight at UFC 318, Lewis is among those set to compete when the UFC arrives back in Tennessee on July 12.
‘The Black Beast’ will feature in the main event at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena, where Lewis is tasked with dispatching Tallison Teixeira if he is to make it two wins in a row for the first time since 2021.
Lewis is the all-time knockout leader in the UFC with 15, two of which came in his most recent three fights. Before finishing Rodrigo Nascimento last time out, the fan-favorite delivered a highlight for the ages in Salt Lake City.
Derrick Lewis dropped Marcos Rogerio de Lima with epic flying knee in 33-second KO
UFC 291 took place on July 29, 2023, and was a memorable event. From Justin Gaethje’s head-kick knockout against Dustin Poirier to King Green choking out Tony Ferguson, the card wasn’t short on eyebrow-raising moments.
Perhaps leading in that category, though, was the performance of Lewis.
In the third fight of the main card, ‘The Black Beast’ entered the Octagon looking to snap his three-fight losing skid against Marcos Rogerio de Lima. Lewis took 33 seconds to finish de Lima and achieve that goal, but the manner of victory took just about everybody by surprise.
As soon as the fight began, Lewis burst out of the gates with an instant flying knee à la Jorge Masvidal against Ben Askren at UFC 239 on this day (July 6) in 2019.
While ‘Gamebred’ put his rival out with the shot, de Lima had to endure a number of ground-and-pound shots after being dropped but not fully rendered unconscious by Lewis’ surprise display of athleticism.
Derrick Lewis did serious damage with his unexpected flying knee
Given his immense power, Lewis only needs seconds to do significant damage to his rivals — something de Lima knows all too well.
Speaking to Super Lutas in the aftermath of his brutal loss to Lewis, ‘Pezao’ revealed Lewis’ flying knee damaged his teeth so severely that he was left struggling to even eat.
“It’s one thing when you lose while fighting. The way it was, it was really painful,” de Lima said.
“He rushed me and I thought he was going to throw a Superman punch. I raised my guard and he threw the knee. I was kind of out when I fell down. It was a hard blow and I couldn’t react.
“I took a hard knee,” de Lima continued. “My teeth are all loose. I can’t eat properly. It’s a hard moment.”