Tallison Teixeira names the only man who can stop Tom Aspinall as he plots a title shot after beating Derrick Lewis

UFC Nashville headliner Tallison Teixeira believes it will be either him or another Brazilian heavyweight who dethrones Tom Aspinall.

Saturday’s UFC Fight Night main event offers the chance for a new name to break into title contention in the heavyweight division, as newcomer Teixeira makes just his second appearance inside the Octagon since earning a contract on Dana White’s Contender Series.

Following Teixeira’s 35-second debut knockout against Justin Tafa, the 25-year-old prospect has received a huge opportunity against multi-time title challenger Derrick Lewis.

With a victory on fight night in Nashville, ‘Xicao’ expects to begin a fast charge to the heavyweight king.

READ MORE: Alex Pereira is told he never would have been light heavyweight champion if UFC didn’t ‘sandbag’ Magomed AnkalaevTallison Teixeira plans to unseat Tom Aspinall if Jailton Almeida doesn’t do it firstSpeaking to MMA Fighting ahead of his second UFC fight and maiden main event, Teixeira outlined his plan to make a quick rise toward the heavyweight gold.

After getting past Lewis, the all-time leader in UFC knockouts, ‘Xicao’ expects a victory over a name like Curtis Blaydes or Sergei Pavlovich to set the stage for his first championship opportunity in 2026.

When he reaches the top, Teixeira is confident of being the one to take the title from Aspinall. That is, if one of his fellow countrymen hasn’t got there first.

“Now that Jon Jones has retired, and the division is finally rolling, I expect to be fighting for the belt before the end of next year,” Teixeira said. “Fight Derrick now, and I hope to fight one more time this year, and next year I’ll be fighting for the belt…maybe next is Sergei or Curtis Blaydes, a name like that.

“I think the only one that could stop (Aspinall) right now would be ‘Malhadinho’ (Jailton Almeida),” Teixeira continued. “I don’t see (Ciryl) Gane beating him. I don’t think Sergei wins either. So I think the most likely to win would be ‘Malhadinho’.

“It’s good that the belt would come to Bahia one way or the other. If ‘Malhadinho’ doesn’t take his belt, I got it.”

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Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLCIt does not look like Jailton Almeida is getting his wish to challenge Tom AspinallShould Almeida get the chance to prove Teixeira correct inside the Octagon, it appears that he has more work to do against a fellow contender.

After Jones retired and Aspinall became undisputed heavyweight champion, ‘Malhadinho’ was immediately the most vocal in calling out the Englishman. But it seems another contender — likely Gane — has received the nod.

The Brazilian recently took to X and hinted at a possible title eliminator against the third of Aspinall’s potential next foes, Alexander Volkov, instead.

“Good news (is) coming,” Almeida wrote on X. “Volkov already agreed. I said close to his home in Abu Dhabi, he said in my home in Brazil, both said October or November, so…let’s go! I like the fight, he likes the fight and UFC likes the fight! @Mickmaynard2 @danawhite”

Should those two be tied up in a fight, it would seemingly leave only ‘Bon Gamin’ as a viable challenger for Aspinall in the coming months.