Derrick Lewis vs Rodrigo Nascimento tops UFC St. Louis card
The main event has been made official for the UFC Octagon’s return to St. Louis in 2024, featuring Derrick Lewis up against Rodrigo Nascimento. The fight card airs live from Enterprise Center on Saturday, May 11.
Former heavyweight title challenger and no. 12-ranked contender Derrick Lewis (27-12, 1 NC) dropped a unanimous decision against Jailton Almeida last time out in November 2023. Last July, the 39-year-old stopped Marcos Rogerio de Lima in the first round, after suffering three defeats in a row. The New Orleans, Louisiana native challenged Ciryl Gane for the interim belt in August 2021 and the then champion Daniel Cormier in November 2018, but lost both fights by TKO and submission, respectively.
No. 15 Rodrigo Nascimento (11-1, 1 NC) is riding a three-fight winning streak. Brazil’s 31-year-old scored a unanimous decision against Don’Tale Mayes last November, following a pair of wins by split decision against Ilir Latifi last May and Tanner Boser in November 2022.
The promotion confirmed the matchup on Saturday via post on X.
Among other recently announced bouts for the event, Phoenix-based Waldo Cortes-Acosta (11-1) of Dominican Republic faces unbeaten Cuban heavyweight Robelis Despaigne (5-0).
With the addition of Lewis vs Nascimento as the headliner, the current UFC St. Louis 2024 lineup looks as the following:
Derrick Lewis vs. Rodrigo Nascimento, heavyweight
Charles Johnson vs. Jake Hadley, flyweight
Terrance McKinney vs. Esteban Ribovics, lightweight
Carlos Ulberg vs. Alonzo Menifield, light heavyweight
Jared Gooden vs. Kevin Jousset, welterweight
Tecia Torres vs. Tabatha Ricci, women’s strawweight
Chase Hooper vs. Viacheslav Borshchev, lightweight
Trey Waters vs. Billy Goff, welterweight
Waldo Cortes-Acosta vs. Robelis Despaigne, heavyweight
Alex Caceres vs. Sean Woodson, featherweight
Michael Johnson vs. Matt Frevola, lightweight
Parviz Iskenderov
Parviz Iskenderov is a former Muay Thai fighter, sports manager and editor at FIGHTMAG.
