Rodrigo Nascimento is set to face Derrick Lewis in a five-round heavyweight match at UFC St. Louis, aiming to extend his win streak to four and climb the UFC rankings, with the ultimate goal of holding the UFC heavyweight title.
Rodrigo Nascimento is stepping into his first UFC main event. He’s taking a leaf from his teammate’s book, UFC flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja.
Nascimento is set to face Derrick Lewis in a five-round heavyweight match. This showdown is happening on Saturday at UFC St. Louis. The Brazilian fighter has big plans. He’s looking to extend his winning streak to four. His ultimate dream? To hold the UFC heavyweight title one day.
He recently had a chat with Pantoja. “It’s funny,” he said, “Pantoja just wanted to get to the UFC. Then he started winning fights and realized it was possible.” Nascimento believes he can become a UFC champion too. He knows it’s just a matter of time. Derrick Lewis is his next hurdle. He’s confident he’ll get past him.
Nascimento has had three successful octagon appearances. He defeated Tanner Boser, Ilir Latifi, and Don’Tale Mayes. Before that, he stopped Alan Baudot in the second round. But there was a hiccup. His victory got overturned to a no-contest. Why? He failed a drug test for ritalinic acid. He was granted a therapeutic use exemption (TUE) after the fight, but the victory wasn’t reinstated. The Nevada Athletic Commission doesn’t accept retroactive TUEs.
Despite this, Nascimento sees himself on a four-fight winning streak. He’s confident that a victory at UFC St. Louis will catapult him into the top 10 of the division.
Lewis, he says, has a ton of hype around him. He’s a funny guy and a good fighter. Nascimento believes this victory will take him to a different level in the UFC. After he beats Lewis, he’s sure he’ll move up in the rankings. He might even fight a top-10 or top-five contender in his next fight.
Lewis recently lost a decision to Jailton Almeida. This was three months after a thrilling flying knee knockout of Nascimento’s teammate Marcos Rogerio de Lima. Nascimento revealed that Saturday’s bout was originally planned for UFC 301 in Rio de Janeiro. But Lewis declined to compete in Brazil again.
Lewis has been finished in nine of his 10 UFC defeats. Nascimento plans to capitalize on this. He won his past three UFC bouts via decision. He enjoyed the experience of going 15 minutes in the octagon. But now, he wants to go back to finishing people.
“We trained really hard,” Nascimento said. He’s ready to go five rounds or submit Lewis in the first round, or even knock him out. He plans to seize every opportunity to end the fight. He wished he had submitted Mayes in Sao Paulo to put on a show. But winning and a full paycheck is what matters in the end.
Nascimento thinks Lewis might come a bit lighter this time. He wants to be more agile. Lewis can be surprising in many ways. He has surprised other heavyweights in the past. His inside trips are dangerous, and his hands, no doubt about it. Everyone knows that. Nascimento will be on guard against that. He knows that Lewis’s unpredictability makes him very dangerous.