SUMMARY
- Derrick Lewis finishes Rodrigo Nascimento in 3rd round after an exciting back and forth
- Carlos Ulberg secures a 12 second TKO win cementing his position as a title contender in UFC
Mixed martial arts fans were treated with another exciting fight card at the recently concluded UFC on ESPN 56 event. Taking place at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis, Missouri on Saturday, May 11, the event was headlined by the much-awaited heavyweight clash between Derrick Lewis and Rodrigo Nascimento, while Joaquin Buckley and Nursulton Ruziboev locked horns in the co-main event.
Marking the promotion’s first-ever appearance in St Louis in 2024, UFC on ESPN 56 held up to its expectations, and the cherry on top was the spectacular finishes that the Enterprise Center witnessed on Saturday night. Below are some of the best finishes of UFC on ESPN 56:
Esteban Ribovics knocks out Terrance McKinney
The prelims of UFC events may not bring much excitement for casual fans, but even those fights have just enough juice to send the MMA fanbase into a frenzy, as Esteban Ribovics (13-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) delivered one of the best finishes of this year in his lightweight clash against Terrance McKinney (15-7 MMA, 5-4 UFC). Just moments into the fight, a vicious head-kick from Ribovics sent McKinney down onto the canvas, ending the fight at the 0:37 second mark of the first round.
RIBOVICS JUST SLEPT MCKINNEY WITH A HEAD KICK 💥 pic.twitter.com/B3175LC2xZ
— OOC MMA (@oocmma) May 11, 2024
Carlos Ulberg rocks Alonzo Menifield into a 12-second TKO
The excitement from the 37-second finish from Ribovics in the prelims was yet to be simmered down, only to be followed up with another flashy finish in the main card, courtesy of Carlos Ulberg (10-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC). Riding into the fight with a 5-0 unbeaten streak, “Black Jag” squared off against Alonzo Menifield (15-4-1 MMA, 8-4-1 UFC) in a 205-pound contest. In a climactic turn of events, a rush from Menifield right at the start was followed by a mean counter from Ulberg, followed up with a barrage of punches to secure the TKO finish at just 12 seconds of round 1 and his sixth straight victory in the Octagon.
CARLOS ULBERG JUST SMOKED MENIFIELD IN TWELVE SECONDS #UFCStLouis pic.twitter.com/AQU76GsnnM
— Spinnin Backfist (@SpinninBackfist) May 12, 2024
A vicious one-two from Derrick Lewis shuts out Rodrigo Nascimento in the headliner
The biggest highlight of UFC on ESPN 56 was Derrick Lewis (28-12 MMA, 19-10 UFC), the promotion’s knockout artist whose brutal finishes can make one a fan of the UFC, expected to fire up the Octagon with another brutal finish of his opponent of the night Rodrigo Nascimento (11-2 MMA, 4-2 UFC) in the heavyweight main event. Needless to say, “The Black Beast” delivered, with one of his best finishes to mark his comeback from the Jailton Almeida setback in November last year, which even featured an Octagon intruder.
Round one of the bout had a much even contest between the two, with Nascimento showcasing his takedown and elbows to contest against Lewis’ composure, who did, in fact, turn things around in the ultimate moments of the first round by reversing the ground-and-pound from Nascimento. The second round opened up with Lewis making a huge connection, and a takedown attempt, but Nascimento continued his pressing, and this time, reversed the takedown from Lewis to end the round.
However, it was in round three that Lewis came into his naturality. Half a minute into the round, and came in a vicious one-two from Lewis, sending Nascimento down. Lewis followed suit with ground-and-pound to finish the fight at the 0:49 second mark of the third round, as well as extending his UFC record for most knockouts with 15.
DERRICK LEWIS ADDS ANOTHER KNOCKOUT TO HIS RESUME OVER RODRIGO NASCIMENTO #UFCStLouis pic.twitter.com/672s942nNM
— Spinnin Backfist (@SpinninBackfist) May 12, 2024
UFC on ESPN 56 Full Result:
Main Card
- Heavyweight Main Event: Derrick Lewis def. Rodrigo Nascimento via TKO (punches) (R3, 0:49)
- Welterweight Co-Main Event: Joaquin Buckley def. Nursulton Ruziboev via Unanimous Decision (30–27, 30–26, 29–27)
- Light Heavyweight Bout: Carlos Ulberg def. Alonzo Menifield via TKO (punches) (R1, 0:12)
- Lightweight Bout: Carlos Diego Ferreira def. Mateusz Rębecki via TKO (punches) (R3, 4:51)
- Featherweight Bout: Sean Woodson def. Alex Caceres via Unanimous Decision (29–28, 29–28, 30–27)
- Heavyweight Bout: Waldo Cortes-Acosta def. Robelis Despaigne via Unanimous Decision (30–26, 30–27, 30–27)
Preliminary Card
- Lightweight Bout: Chase Hooper def. Viacheslav Borshchev via Submission (brabo choke) (R2, 3:00)
- Lightweight Bout: Esteban Ribovics def. Terrance McKinney via KO (head kick) (R1, 0:37)
- Women’s Strawweight Bout: Tabatha Ricci def. Tecia Pennington via Split Decision (28–29, 29–28, 29–28)
- Welterweight Bout: Trey Waters def. Billy Goff via Unanimous Decision (30–27, 30–27, 29–28)
- Flyweight Bout: Charles Johnson def. Jake Hadley via Unanimous Decision (29–28, 29–28, 29–28)
- Women’s Flyweight Bout: Veronica Hardy def. JJ Aldrich via Unanimous Decision (29–28, 29–28, 29–28)
What are your thoughts on the fight card? Let us know in the comments below.