Dana White is cooking—scratch that—Hunter Campbell might be cooking a little too hard, because the UFC’s return to Nashville promises nothing but carnage, chaos, and a striking spectacle. Why, you ask? The lineup is loaded: from the heavyweight sledgehammer Derrick Lewis to featherweight technician Calvin Kattar, and the return of Chris Curtis, it’s a fight fever dream. Let’s take a look at the certified bangers announced so far that have the MMA world buzzing.
The UFC will return to Nashville on July 12th for the first time since 2023, with the fight card headlined by a heavyweight clash between knockout artist Derrick Lewis and Tallison Teixeira. The stacked card will also feature Calvin Kattar vs. Steve Garcia in the co-main event. Along with the headliners, the UFC has announced several additional exciting matchups to round out the event. The promotion further announced a number of high-profile events set to take place at the Bridgestone Arena.
The UFC officially announce their return to Nashville on July 12 headlined by Derrick Lewis vs. Tallison Teixeira with Calvin Kattar vs. Steve Garcia announced as a feature bout.
Here are the rest of the fights announced thus far: pic.twitter.com/KdHUK3NVEg
— Aaron Bronsteter (@aaronbronsteter) May 27, 2025
Among the confirmed bouts is a welterweight showdown between Jake Matthews and Chidi Njokuani. Additionally, Junior Tafa will step into the octagon against Tcuo Tokkos in a light heavyweight clash. Fans can also look forward to an exciting matchup between Chris Curtis and Max Griffin. Let’s have a look at the complete list of fights announced for UFC Nashville.
Derrick Lewis vs. Tallison Teixeira
Calvin Kattar vs. Steve Garcia
Chris Curtis vs. Max Griffin
Lauren Murphy vs. Eduarda Moura
Jake Matthews vs. Chidi Njokuani
Junior Tafa vs. Tuco Tokkos
Ateba Gautier vs. Robert Valentin
Vitor Petrino vs. Austen Lane
Fatima Kline vs. Melissa Martinez
As the UFC announced the fights, MMA broadcaster Aaron Bronsteter took to his X handle to reveal the entire matchup, and fans have had mixed reactions to the card. Let’s take a look at what the MMA community is saying…
MMA community stands divided as Dana White and the promotion drop the UFC Nashville fightcard
Guess who holds the record for the most knockouts in UFC history? It’s none other than Derrick Lewis, who boasts an incredible 15 knockout victories in his UFC career. It’s worth noting that ‘The Black Beast’ has won 23 of his 28 career victories by way of knockout. Reacting to this impressive stat, one fan commented: “Someone is going out in the main event for sure.”
Has the UFC been placing underwhelming cards recently? Many within the community believe that the promotion has been putting together substandard fights due to weaker star power. And when a fan witnessed the Nashville card, he concurred: “This is just S–. Losing interest in UFC by the day.” Since the start of the year, the UFC has been marred by such accusations, prompting even Ariel Helwani to suggest that the entire sport might be in a state of recession.
Yet another social media user highlighted the lack of star power in the UFC Nashville fight, “Needs at least 2 very good fights to make it exciting Otherwise it’s just decently fun fights with no stakes.” The last time the UFC took place in Nashville was in 2023. The event was headlined by Cory Sandhagen and Rob Font. Additionally, Tatiana Suarez faced Jessica Andrade, and Diego Lopez also competed on the card. However, many fans believe that the current UFC events in Nashville lack serious star power.
Elsewhere, another fan appears to be satisfied with all the other fights on the card, except for the headliner: “Under whelming main event but still fun, if they add a good ranked men’s fight for the co-main I’ll probably go since the rest of the card looks exciting.”
The last time Derrick Lewis headlined a card was back in May 2024 at UFC on ESPN against Rodrigo Nascimento. It’s been a year since ‘The Black Beast’ has headlined an event, and now that he’s headlining this card again, fans have serious doubts about the UFC, “Derrick Lewis is headlining? How bad is the UFC product right now?”
Last but not the least, a social media user raised concern about the substandard cards, “Another headliner with Lewis fighting a nobody?” Now, with UFC Nashville already announced, do you think Dana White might make any changes, considering the negative reviews from the fans? Share your opinion in the comments below.
The post “Someone Is Going Out in the Main Event”: UFC’s Return to Nashville With Derrick Lewis Headliner Has Fans Hyped Up appeared first on EssentiallySports.
