Making their way to Nashville, Tennessee, the UFC delivers on a heavyweight clash of titanic proportions when two-time title challenger Derrick Lewis goes toe-to-toe with surging contender Tallison Teixeira in the UFC Nashville main event. In the co-main event, welterweight luminary Stephen Thompson puts his ranking in the top 15 on the line when he tussles hot divisional prospect Gabriel Bonfim.
UFC Nashville Main Event
Coming off of a stunning knockout of Rodrigo Nascimento, Lewis will be making his first Octagon appearance since May 2024. Known the world over for his legendary power, “The Black Beast” will be looking to flatten another up-and-coming bruiser in UFC Nashville’s headlining contest with the same strength that carried him to two different championship opportunities.
Undefeated in his first eight bouts as a professional, Teixeira made an immediate impression on pundits and fans by toppling the veteran competitor Justin Tafa last February at UFC 312 in his promotional debut. Now elevated to his first main event showing in the company, the towering “Xicão” can jumpstart a monumental run toward the 265-lb by starching the venerable Lewis in UFC Nashville on Saturday night.
UFC Nashville Co-Main Event
A staple part of the global leader in MMA’s’ 170-lb class since 2012, Thompson has crossed paths with some of the greatest fighters to ever compete at welterweight, like Johny Hendricks, Gilbert Burns, Shavkat Rakhmonov and Tyron Woodley. Even at 42 years old, “Wonderboy” remains a top threat to anyone in the weight class with his rangy yet stylistic karate style.
In the midst of an excellent two-fight winning streak, Bonfim has seemingly recovered in spades after dropping his perfect record to Nicolas Dalby back in 2023. Logging two recent triumphs over Ange Loosa and Khaos Williams, “Marretinha” is on a mission to secure his place in the 170-lb rankings by shutting down a bona fide legend of the division in UFC Nashville.
Here’s How to Watch UFC Nashville
Online Streaming: You can catch the entire card on ESPN+, but you will need to subscribe in order to do so. Right now, the company is offering a monthly or yearly subscription of $11.99 and $119.99 respectively. For those who want to get more bang out of their buck, there is also the monthly Disney Bundle Deal, which offers ESPN+, Hulu, and Disney+ for $16.99 with included commercials, or $26.99 for no commercials at all.
Start Time and Date: The Preliminaries will begin at 6 pm ET, followed by the Main Card at 9pm ET on July 12th.
Bout Order For UFC Nashville
Main Card:
Derrick Lewis vs. Tallison Teixeira (Heavyweight)
Stephen Thompson vs. Gabriel Bonfim (Welterweight)
Calvin Kattar vs. Steve Garcia (Featherweight)
Nate Landwehr vs. Morgan Charrière (Featherweight)
Vitor Petrino vs. Austen Lane (Heavyweight)
Junior Tafa vs. Tuco Tokkos (Heavyweight)
Preliminaries:
Max Griffin vs. Chris Curtis (Welterweight)
Jake Matthews vs. Chidi Njokuani (Welterweight)
Lauren Murphy vs. Eduarda Moura (Women’s Flyweight)
Kennedy Nzechukwu vs. Valter Walker (Heavyweight)
Mitch Ramirez vs. Mike Davis (Lightweight)
Fatima Kline vs. Melissa Martinez (Women’s Strawweight)
