Derrick Lewis knocked out Rodrigo Nascimento in the third round of their UFC St. Louis fight, then celebrated by disrobing and mooning the crowd.
Derrick Lewis sure knows how to put on a show. His latest spectacle? UFC St. Louis on Saturday.
He didn’t just win. He delivered a knockout that made jaws drop. And then? He gave the audience another performance, right there in the ring.
His fight with Rodrigo Nascimento was a rollercoaster. A back-and-forth battle that ended with Lewis unleashing a right hand so powerful, it sent the Brazilian crashing to the ground in the third round. Lewis didn’t stop there. He kept throwing punches until the referee had to step in. Nascimento couldn’t take any more.
The fight was over 49 seconds into the third round.
But Lewis wasn’t done. He stripped off his shorts, using them to fan Nascimento back to consciousness. Medical staff rushed to attend to Nascimento on the canvas. Lewis, meanwhile, tossed his athletic cup to the media table. Then he mooned the St. Louis crowd, grinning all the while.
“I appreciate St. Louis for letting me show my naked ass tonight,” Lewis said after his win. He added, “I couldn’t let no taxi cab driver from Brazil beat me. This is my first time ever hearing of that guy. Ain’t no way I could let someone like that beat me.”
Lewis didn’t waste a second overwhelming Nascimento. He came forward, took him down early, then worked from the clinch. Nascimento managed to break free, but had to dodge some heavy punches from Lewis.
Nascimento tried a different tactic. He grabbed Lewis, took him down, and started raining punches and elbows. He even briefly advanced into the mount. But Lewis bucked him off and ended up on top just as the first round ended.
Round two saw Lewis going for the head with huge punches. He was trying to take Nascimento out with every shot. Nascimento held on, but Lewis was controlling the pace and the offense.
Nascimento regained some momentum late in the second round. A slip from Lewis let him take the back and land some ground strikes. It was anyone’s fight at this point. But Lewis wasn’t about to let it go any further.
He started the third round with an aggressive combo, ending with a right hand that sent Nascimento to the ground. Lewis jumped on top, continuing the punishment until the ref called it.
Lewis had spent nearly 25 minutes under Jailton Almeida in his previous fight. But at UFC St. Louis, he was back to winning.
“I’m going to sit my Black ass down for a second. I’m getting too old for this shit,” Lewis joked afterwards. “I’m in my prime, but you didn’t see that shit. You don’t see too many almost 40 year olds doing that shit like that.”