Fair stoppage, or too early? That’s the question many are asking after UFC on ESPN 70.
Two-time UFC title challenger Derrick Lewis extended his record for the most knockouts in promotion history Saturday in the main event in Nashville, Tenn. Lewis (29-12 MMA, 20-10 UFC) stopped Tallison Teixeira and took his undefeated record in just 35 seconds, but with some controversy.
Teixeira (8-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC), though visibly wobbled from one Lewis’ shots, was getting back to his feet, while grabbing the fence, as referee Jason Herzog stepped in to wave off the action. The Brazilian immediately complained about the stoppage, and many online did, too.
You can watch the replay of the fight in the video above and let us know what you thought of the stoppage in the poll below.
With the result, Lewis wins back-to-back fights for the first time since beating Aleksei Oleinik in August 2020 and Curtis Blaydes in February 2021. “The Black Beast” entered his third straight main event following a third-round finish of Rodrigo Nascimento last May, and extended his knockout total to 16, the most in UFC history.
On the other side, Teixeira, 25, walks away with his first career loss. In every previous fight, the Brazilian finished every opponent in the first round. However, facing a former title challenger in his second UFC appearance was a bit too much to handle.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC Nashville: Full fight video of Derrick Lewis’ controversial TKO