Derrick Lewis’s feud with his UFC Nashville rival continues weeks after their fight lasted just 35 seconds.
UFC all-time knockouts leader Derrick Lewis returned to the win column with a 35-second knockout at UFC Nashville earlier this month. Lewis handed Tallison Teixeira his first UFC defeat with a brutal display of power and precision for as long as the fight lasted.
Lewis and Teixeira had some bad blood ahead of UFC Nashville. According to Lewis, Teixeira’s coaches attempted to trash talk him throughout fight week, prompting a prolonged post-fight celebration in the cage after the knockout win.
Those tensions carried over between Lewis and Teixeira in the weeks after their fight.
Derrick Lewis and Tallison Teixeira continue feud weeks after UFC Nashville fight
Just days after Lewis’s knockout win, Lewis took to social media to half-jokingly react to his controversial finish. Referee Jason Herzog reached a new conclusion following UFC Nashville on the stoppage, admitting that his decision to wave off the fight as Teixeira attempted to fight back was a poor choice.
In a recent post on X, Lewis humorously claimed that his knockout win was part of a big UFC work.
“Told you it’s scripted,” Lewis tweeted.
Lewis expressed his disdain for his UFC Nashville rival in his post-fight media availability. After mimicking Israel Adesanya’s post-fight celebration, Lewis admitted that Teixeira is the lone heavyweight who he’s ‘hated’ during his legendary career.
After Lewis’s tongue-in-cheek tweet, it didn’t take long for Teixeira to take notice.
“Script won’t help you next time [middle finger] [laughs],” Teixeira commented.
Teixeira immediately protested Herzog’s stoppage at UFC Nashville as Lewis began his post-fight theatrics. In his first social media remarks after UFC Nashville, Teixeira didn’t directly address the stoppage as he thanked his supporters and promised to return to the Octagon with vengeance.
Following the controversial result in the UFC Nashville headliner, Lewis could potentially be next in line for a title shot, according to one former two-division titleholder.
Former UFC champ tabbed Derrick Lewis to be Tom Aspinall’s first undisputed title defense
Henry Cejudo raised eyebrows when he made a strong case for Lewis to be Tom Aspinall’s first undisputed title defense opponent later this year. Cejudo claimed that Lewis’s starpower, combined with Ciryl Gane‘s contested win over Alexander Volkov, makes him a viable option to be Aspinall’s next opponent.
UFC CEO Dana White fueled speculation when he didn’t outright deny that Lewis has a great chance at facing Aspinall later this year. As of this writing, the UFC hasn’t announced details surrounding Aspinall’s first undisputed title defense.
Aspinall was promoted to undisputed heavyweight champion after Jon Jones’s abrupt retirement last month. Jones has since reversed course on his retirement and is plotting a potential Octagon comeback in 2026 at The White House.
But Jones received some bad news from White after UFC 318, as White shut down Jones’s desired return date for the UFC’s White House event. A year away from the card, Jones will aim to change White’s mind on potentially headlining the unprecedented fight night.