Derrick Lewis jokingly leaked a ‘script’ for his UFC Nashville main event, but went on to live up to it perfectly.
Former heavyweight world title contender Lewis blasted out undefeated Brazilian Tallison Teixeira within 35 seconds last night to stun the capacity Broadway crowd. Just a few weeks before the fight, he warned Ariel Helwani during an appearance on his show exactly what would happen.
Lewis has now won two consecutive fights for the first time since 2021, and with the division so up in the air, has already emerged as a contender for Tom Aspinall’s newly-minted world title. However, at the age of 40 time is not on his side.
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Derrick Lewis claimed UFC was ‘scripted’ before predicting UFC Nashville KO
Derrick Lewis is a known joker, but his chickens have come home to roost after a light-hearted rib on The Ariel Helwani Show came to pass at UFC Nashville. He joked with the veteran reporter that the UFC is now fixed, and told bettors that the script called for him to win by first round knockout.
“It’s scripted,” Lewis said in a clearly comical tone after talking about the politics of the sport. “It’s part of the script. The whole UFC is scripted. It’s part of the plan, so on July 12, they want me to win by first-round knockout.
“It’s part of the script… So whoever wants to make that bet, go ahead and make that bet because everything is scripted.” When Helwani joked that the scriptwriters must not be doing a great job for the heavyweights due to how boring the division has become, Lewis laughed at the idea.
“That’s their fault,” he replied, again in a cheeky tone. “They don’t want to give me no fights so that’s their fault.”
Derrick Lewis is now in line for third UFC title fight
Despite going 2-5 prior to his latest win streak, Derrick Lewis has maintained a solid spot in the rankings due to his activity and regularly fighting top contenders. And after his latest win, he is likely to move up from the number nine spot he was holding.
Even if he stays at nine, given how dominant Tom Aspinall has been he may remain a serious contender just by process of elimination. The Brit is expected to fight number one contender and former interim champion Ciryl Gane next in his first defence of his new undisputed belt.
From there, he holds stoppage wins over numbers two through four, with Jailton Almeida in five his next contender. Waldo Cortes Acosta is next, but Aspinall has also beaten numbers seven and eight Marcin Tybura and Serghei Spivac.
It means that there are only two opponents in Lewis’ way, and likely just one, as he pursues another shot at gold. His name value relative to Acosta and Almeida will also help his case as one of the sport’s most beloved and exciting figures.