UFC heavyweight contender Tallison Teixeira shared his first public remarks on a disappointing night at UFC Nashville.
UFC all-time knockout leader Derrick Lewis added another one to his resume with a brutal finish of Tallison Teixeira at UFC Nashville. But the fight didn’t end without a bit of controversy.
After Lewis appeared to fake an eye poke just seconds into the fight, he caught Teixeira coming in with a left hand that dropped the 6’7″ Brazilian. But Teixeira was able to work his way back up to his feet, albeit while taking some big shots from Lewis in the process.
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Tallison Teixeira releases first statement since UFC Nashville main event KO loss
Referee Jason Herzog stepped in to wave off the fight just 35 seconds into Round 1, despite Teixeira immediately protesting the stoppage. UFC CEO Dana White was among those who believe the ruling was made too fast, and that Teixeira should’ve been allowed to fight on.
Despite the post-fight debate, Teixeira suffered the first defeat of his career after the Dana White’s Contender Series standout won his previous eight professional outings. Teixeira won his UFC debut by 35-second knockout over Justin Tafa at UFC 312 earlier this year.
The 25-year-old Teixeira earned a UFC main event slot in just his second promotional appearance. After suffering from the jaws of defeat for the first time in his career, Teixeira is in the process of working towards a potentially triumphant comeback.
In a recent post to X, Teixeira sent a message to his supporters after suffering his first career loss in the UFC Nashville headliner.
“Hello everyone. It’s not the result I wanted, but I’ll come back stronger. I apologize for disappointing you,” Teixeira posted.
“Xicao will be back.”
Derrick Lewis could get a big push to a title shot to face Tom Aspinall after UFC Nashville
Meanwhile, Lewis could potentially get a heavyweight title shot for his next outing after UFC Nashville. The UFC heavyweight division, led by undisputed champion Tom Aspinall, is in desperate need of new contenders for the newly-crowned titleholder.
Lewis is one of the few top heavyweights who hasn’t faced Aspinall in their careers. Aspinall is expected to return later this year for his first undisputed heavyweight title defense.
Former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman made a strong case for Lewis to get the next heavyweight title shot after his win at UFC Nashville. Weidman cited Lewis having ‘more name value’ than other contenders like Ciryl Gane and Alexander Volkov as a major reason to give him a big push.
Gane defeated Volkov by a controversial split decision at UFC 310 in December.
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