What Time Does The UFC Nashville Fight Card Start?

The UFC Nashville fight card goes down tonight at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee. A heavyweight matchup between former UFC title challenger Derrick Lewis and the fast-rising Tallison Teixeira headlines the UFC Fight Night event.

ESPN will broadcast the entire UFC Nashville Fight Card. The event will also stream on ESPN+.

We look at all the information you need for tonight’s UFC Nashville fight card.

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UFC Nashville Fight Card: Date, Time, Location, How To Watch Or Stream

Date: Saturday, July 12, 2025

Location: Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, TN

Main Card Start Time: 9:00 p.m. ET on ESPN and ESPN+

Preliminary Card Start Time: 6:00 p.m. ET on ESPN and ESPN+

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UFC Nashville Main Card

Derrick Lewis vs. Tallison Teixeira – Heavyweight

Stephen Thompson vs. Gabriel Bonfim – Welterweight

Calvin Kattar vs. Steve Garcia – Featherweight

Nate Landwehr vs. Morgan Charriere – Featherweight

Vitor Petrino vs. Austen Lane – Heavyweight

Junior Tafa vs. Tuco Tokkos – Light Heavyweight

UFC Nashville Preliminary Card

Max Griffin vs. Chris Curtis – Welterweight

Jake Matthews vs. Chidi Njokuani – Welterweight

Lauren Murphy vs. Eduarda Moura – Women’s Flyweight

Kennedy Nzechukwu vs. Valter Walker – Heavyweight

Mitch Ramirez vs. Mike Davis – Lightweight

Fatima Kline vs. Melissa Martinez – Strawweight

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UFC Tonight: UFC Nashville Main Event – Derrick Lewis Vs. Tallison Teixeira

Derrick Lewis (28-12-0-1) is the No. 9 fighter in the official UFC heavyweight rankings. The 40-year-old former UFC title challenger is coming off a May 2024 knockout win over Rodrigo Nascimento. Lewis, who owns the record for most knockouts in UFC history with 15, is 2-4 in his past six trips to the Octagon dating back to February 2022.

Lewis has been with the UFC since 2014. He also has the UFC record for most finishes in the heavyweight division with 15. No active UFC heavyweight has as many fights in the Octagon as Lewis does at 29. Lewis has a UFC heavyweight record eight fight-night bonus awards.

Tallison Teixeira (8-0) joined the UFC in 2024 with a knockout win on a Dana White Contender Series card. The 25-year-old made his official UFC debut in February 2025, scoring a first-round knockout, and a “Performance of the Night” bonus in a win over Justin Tafa.

The UFC is wasting no time in throwing Teixeira into the deep end of the heavyweight pool, giving him a veteran opponent in a main event contest. All eight of Teixeira’s career wins have come via first-round stoppage (seven knockouts, on submission). He has been a pro since 2021. He is ranked No. 13 in the UFC’s heavyweight weight class.

When the opening betting odds were first published for Lewis vs. Teixeira, Teixeira opened as the -200 betting favorite over the +165 Lewis. The betting line has shifted. Today, Teixeira is -300 to Lewis’s +240.

Lewis has picked up 72 percent of the bets on the UFC Nashville main event, but Teixeira has 71 percent of the handle.

If you’re looking for an outcome for Lewis vs. Teixeira, I’d say lean toward the fight ending via knockout, and maybe even a first round knockout.

My expectation is that the veteran who has been in the Octagon against some of the heaviest hitters in the UFC’s heavyweight division is going to be anxious to test the young man who only has 35 seconds of UFC fight time to his name.

We don’t know much about Teixeira outside of the fact that he’s bigger and younger than Lewis. And while this matchup won’t answer every question we have about Teixeira, it should tell us if he is able to use his size and reach as well as take a punch from the UFC’s all-time leader in knockouts.

The big concern is Teixeira’s defense. He can get tagged and tagged clean. That is an enormous concern.

In an ideal world, Teixeira uses his length to use his kicks to hurt Lewis to the body and then finish him when Lewis is hurt.

The betting pick is Teixeira to win via knockout, but that is not a very confident pick because of his limited UFC fight time and the fact that this is a UFC heavyweight scrap.

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Stay tuned for more coverage from the UFC Nashville fight card. Including live UFC Nashville results, reactions, recaps and video highlights during tonight’s event.