Pros react after Derrick Lewis TKO’s Tallison Teixeira at UFC Nashville

Tonight’s UFC Nashville event was headlined by a highly anticipated heavyweight bout between Derrick Lewis and Tallison Teixeira.

Lewis (29-12 MMA) was returning to action for the first time since scoring a third-round TKO victory over Rodrigo Nascimento fourteen months ago at UFC St. Louis. ‘The Black Beast’ had gone 2-3 over his previous five Octagon appearances, this while suffering losses to Sergei Pavlovich, Serghei Spivac and Jailton Almeida during that stretch.

Meanwhile, Tallison Teixeira (8-1 MMA) entered tonight’s headliner boasting an undefeated professional record of 8-0. ‘Xicao’ had most previously competed at February’s UFC 312 event, where he scored a first-round TKO victory over Justin Tafa.

Tonight’s UFC Nashville main event did not last long and resulted in one of the more bizarre finishes in recent memory. After alleging that he had been poked in the eye to the referee, Derrick Lewis quickly turned and proceeded to drop Tallison Teixeira with a big punch. ‘The Black Beast’ quickly followed up with some ground and pound, but Teixeira still managed to scramble back up to his feet. After landing another pair of shots, the referee inexplicably stepped in and called a stop to the contest.

Official UFC Nashville Results: Derrick Lewis def. Tallison Teixeira via TKO (punches) at 0:35 of Round 1

Check out how the pros reacted to ‘Lewis vs. Teixeira’ below:

OG ain’t losing tonight!!!

— Aljamain Sterling (@funkmasterMMA) July 13, 2025

Post-fight reactions to Derrick Lewis defeating Tallison Teixeira at UFC Nashville:

Horrible time to stop a fight! #UFCNashvile

— Alan Jouban (@AlanJouban) July 13, 2025

What was that

— caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) July 13, 2025

Black beast still got it!!

— Belal Muhammad (@bullyb170) July 13, 2025

Bad stoppage 🤦🏾‍♂️ #UFCNashvile

— GILBERT BURNS DURINHO (@GilbertDurinho) July 13, 2025

Derrick Lewis is a beast and his post fight speeches are thee best. #UFCNashville

— Julianna Peña (@VenezuelanVixen) July 13, 2025

Who would you like to see Lewis fight next following his TKO victory over Teixiera this evening in Tennessee?