This weekend at UFC St Louis we will see some big boys fight it out in the main event. This is because two-time title challenger Derrick Lewis will face off against upcoming Brazilian prospect Rodrigo Nascimento.
Rodrigo Nascimento Career
Rodrigo Nascimento has been with the UFC since 2019 when he won a contract on Dana White’s Contenders Series. Nascimento was able to submit Michal Martínek in the first round by an arm triangle choke to get his contract. Rodrigo Nascimento has been in the UFC octagon 6 times before making his 7th walk to the cage this weekend. Rodrigo Nascimento has so far been able to become the number 15 contender in the UFC rankings.
Nascimento entered the UFC 7-0 before he made his debut against Don’Tale Mayes in May 2020. The UFC had tried to get that fight scheduled 2 times before but due to the coronavirus, this delayed this fight from happening. Even though it took a while to get the fight to happen Nascimento was able to get the victory due to a rear naked choke in the 2nd round.
However, Nascimento would then suffer his first defeat when he faced off against Chris Daukaus. Daukaus was able to get the victory when he knocked out Nascimento in the first round. The next fight he was able to get his first UFC performance of the night bonus. This was after a standing TKO victory over Alan Baudot in the 2nd round. However, since that fight, it has been changed to a no-contest due to Nascimento testing positive for a banned substance.
Since returning he has been able to pick 3 consecutive victories in the UFC. This has included two split-decision victories against Tanner Boser and Ilir Latifi and a unanimous victory against Don’Tale Mayes once again. This latest victory was also able to get him into the ranking and get him a fight against a former title contender Derrick Lewis.
Nascimento Skillset
Rodrigo Nascimento is coming into this fight standing at 6-foot-1 with a reach of 80 inches. Rodrigo Nascimento will be coming into this fight with a reach advantage. This is due to Derrick Lewis only having a reach of 79 inches. Throughout his UFC career, he has an average fight time of 8 minutes and 57 seconds.
Rodrigo Nascimento lands 4.31 significant strikes per minute. While this is a high output he does absorb more than he lands as he absorbs 4.76 significant strikes per minute. While he does put out a good output of strikes he lands at an accuracy rate of 48% while he can defend 43% of strikes which he faces.
Rodrigo Nascimento does have a very good grappling record. During his time in the UFC Nascimento has been able to land 33% of the takedowns he attempts. Rodrigo Nascimento is also able to defend against takedowns at an impressive rate of 78%.
Will Nascimento be able to prove he belongs with the big boys in the rankings or will Derick Lewis put an end to his chances this weekend?
Featured image credit to Embed from Getty Images
