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UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Nascimento Takeaways and Thoughts
May 14, 2024
The UFC put on another fun show with Saturday’s UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Nascimento. Being in front of a live crowd for a non-PPV was great - not only for the UFC pocket, but for fight fans watching in the arena and at home. St. Louis was definitely excited to have a show and it made for an exciting night. Let’s see how the results turned out…
Main Card (ESPN / ESPN+)
Heavyweight: Derrick Lewis def. Rodrigo Nascimento by TKO (punches) in Round 3 at 0:49
Welterweight: Joaquin Buckley def. Nursulton Ruziboev by unanimous decision (30–27, 30–26, 29–27)
Light Heavyweight: Carlos Ulberg def. Alonzo Menifield by KO (punches) in Round 1 at 0:12
Lightweight: Carlos Diego Ferreira def. Mateusz Rębecki by TKO (punches) in Round 3 at 4:51
Featherweight: Sean Woodson def. Alex Caceres by unanimous decision (29–28, 29–28, 30–27)
Heavyweight: Waldo Cortes-Acosta def. Robelis Despaigne by unanimous decision (30–26, 30–27, 30–27)
Preliminary card (ESPN / ESPN+)
Lightweight: Chase Hooper def. Viacheslav Borshchev by submission (brabo choke) in Round 2 at 3:00
Lightweight: Esteban Ribovics def. Terrance McKinney by KO (head kick) in Round 1 at 0:37
Women’s Strawweight: Tabatha Ricci def. Tecia Pennington by split decision (28–29, 29–28, 29–28)
Welterweight: Trey Waters def. Billy Goff by unanimous decision (30–27, 30–27, 29–28)
Flyweight: Charles Johnson def. Jake Hadley by unanimous decision (29–28, 29–28, 29–28)
Women’s Flyweight: Veronica Hardy def. JJ Aldrich by unanimous decision (29–28, 29–28, 29–28)
The Prelims
As usual, the Prelims ended up being a lot of fun - helped by the hot crowd. Even though four of the six fights went the distance, they were all hard fought fights that were enjoyable to watch.
Veronica Hardy, Charles Johnson, and Trey Waters all won by unanimous decision. Each fight, though, was a scrap and very enjoyable to watch. Waters vs. Goff got Fight of the Night and it was much deserved.
Tabitha Ricci got a big split decision win over Tecia Pennington. This was a risky move for Ricci, as Pennington came in unranked. In the end, Ricci beat the scrappy Pennington on two of the judges’ cards to protect her number. Pennington looked really good here, as well, though. I’m excited to see what is next for both women.
Esteban Ribovics put Terrance McKinney to sleep in a really scary, but impressive fashion. He landed a beautiful head kick that had me both yelling for my girlfriend to come watch the replay and shielding my eyes from the aftermath. It was a great win for Ribovics and really worrisome for McKinney with the way he went down.
Chase Hooper proved the betting odds wrong by completely dominating Viacheslav Borshchev. I didn’t pick a Hooper win, officially, but I felt the vibes going that way as the weekend started. I wish I bet for real because I would have won a few dollars. This was a great win, though, for Hooper. He looked amazing from the first second and didn't let up until he secured the win.
Waldo Cortes-Acosta vs. Robelis Despaigne
I don’t want to take away too much from Waldo Cortes-Acosta, but this fight was more about what Robelis Despaigne couldn’t do. We learned a lot. Many people jumped aboard the Despaigne hype train, me included, after UFC 299. His power is amazing, but MMA is so much more than power. He actually got some good shots in on Cortes-Acosta, but Waldo did a nice job of staying tough and working his gameplan. The plan was simple - take Despaigne down and keep him there. It wasn’t sexy, but it worked. For Cortes-Acosta, this is a nice win in derailing the hype. For Despaigne, he knows he has to work on being a complete MMA fighter now that he’s at the highest level.
Alex Caceres vs. Sean Woodson
This was a damn entertaining fight and I expected nothing less. Simple as that. As soon as I saw Caceres and Woodson on the card and realized they’d be fighting each other - I honestly didn’t care who won. I just knew I was in for a good time. They delivered and Woodson ended up with the win. It was much deserved.
Diego Ferreira vs. Mateusz Rebecki
Mateusz Rebecki had his moments early on, but Diego Ferreira ended up mauling him. By the end of the fight, Rebecki’s face looked like it was definitely in a fight - maybe multiple fights. Ferreira got a nice win here and yet another exciting fight under his belt.
Alonzo Menifield vs. Carlos Ulberg
Carlos Ulberg is a bad man. This might have been his toughest test to date and he made very quick work of Alonzo Menifield. There isn’t much else to say because the fight was over in a blink of an eye.
Joaquin Buckley vs. Nursulton Ruziboev
Buckley got the hometown spotlight here. Even though he wanted the main event, he was able to shine in the co-main event. This was a risky fight for Buckley, as Ruziboev is an experienced UFC prospect that was looking to make a name for himself. Buckley did a nice job of both entertaining the fans and getting in his shots. He did more than enough for the decision. It’ll be interesting to see what is next for Joaquin Buckley because he’s now on a streak with a number next to his name.
Derrick Lewis vs. Rodrigo Nascimento
Derrick Lewis proved, yet again, why he’s such a fan favorite. He got his shots in. He got taken down. He stood right up without much issue. He got his shots in again. He got a finish. He took his shorts off. Mooned the crowd. Gave a great interview. Left. It was a pretty typical Derrick Lewis win and it was damn entertaining. Lewis did show up seeming a bit more motivated than usual. Although he seems to be winding down his career, he’ll remain a big time favorite with some high profile fights - win or lose.
My Picks
I ended up going 6-6 in my picks. I did take some risks in my picks, thinking I could be fancy and look smart. It didn’t work out. Luckily, I didn’t bet any real money on this card or else I would have been down a few dollars.
Overall, I thought this was a really entertaining night of fights. The St. Louis crowd definitely helped with the energy, as well.
What did you think? Which fight did you enjoy the most? Which fighter impressed you the most? Let me know at matt.tenhoeve@gmail.com. I’ll be back later in the week to take a look at this weekend’s Bellator and UFC cards. See you then!
