Tallison Teixeira has an enormous process forward of him, headlining a UFC card versus Derrick Lewis in his second octagon look, and he welcomes the additional stress of ending a “curse.”
Teixeira vs. Lewis serves as the primary occasion for UFC Nashville on July 12, and “Xicão” can develop into the primary Brazilian fighter to win a UFC fundamental occasion in 2025.
9 athletes had this chance to date this yr, a 0-9 run with losses for Amanda Ribas, Renato Moicano, Gregory Rodrigues, Alex Pereira, Diego Lopes, Carlos Prates, Deiveson Figueiredo, Gilbert Burns and Charles Oliveira.
4 of the losses got here in championship fights, with “Poatan” dropping the sunshine heavyweight title to Magomed Ankalaev in March, plus failed makes an attempt to win gold by Moicano, Lopes, and Oliveira.
“I like this as a result of I’ll be remembered as the person that ended the Brazilian curse,” Teixeira stated with amusing throughout an interview with MMA Combating. “I even joked about it. ‘I’ll knock out Derrick Lewis, I’ll beat Derrick. Come ask me later.’ I do know that can occur.”
The final time Brazilians went winless in fundamental occasions within the first half of the yr was 2017, with losses by Bethe Correia, Jose Aldo, Glover Teixeira, Junior dos Santos, Wilson Reis and Vitor Belfort. That yr’s “curse” was solely snapped in September, with Amanda Nunes defeating Valentina Shevchenko.
“Brazilians want this after unhappy losses we had,” Teixeira stated. “Brazilian wants this incentive, you realize? I believe that motivates me much more to present my very best contained in the octagon.”
Teixeira improved to 8-0 as an expert fighter after a profitable UFC debut victory over Justin Tafa in February, a knockout in simply 35 seconds. Lewis has fought three Brazilians in a row within the UFC, knocking out Marcos Rogerio de Lima and Rodrigo Nascimento with a choice defeat to Jailton Almeida in between.
