UFC St. Louis Start time, Full Fight Card Details

Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is set to stage UFC St. Louis later TONIGHT (Sat., May 11, 2024) on ESPN and ESPN+ from inside Enterprise Center in St. Louis, Missouri…

UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs Nascimento Ceremonial Weigh-in — Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is set to stage UFC St. Louis later TONIGHT (Sat., May 11, 2024) on ESPN and ESPN+ from inside Enterprise Center in St. Louis, Missouri. In the main event of the evening, Derrick Lewis takes on Brazilian up-and-comer Rodrigo Nascimento. In the co-featured bout, Joaquin Buckley battles Nursulton Ruziboev at welterweight.

What’s Hot:

One of the most popular and exciting fighters in the history of UFC is set to make his return to action in Derrick Lewis. “Black Beast” is known for his amazing knockout power and his quick wit and comedic tendencies. As far as winning is concerned, however, the hard-hitting big man hasn’t been doing much of that lately. Indeed, Lewis is 1-4 in his last five fights. That said, he is always one punch away from getting back into the Top 10 — he sits at No. 12 currently. Will he return to his winning ways? He can, there is no doubt. But one has to wonder if the big man’s best days are long behind him.

No. 15-ranked, Rodrigo Nascimento, has a big opportunity staring him right in the face because a win over Lewis — though he is not the same “Black Beast” of old — looks nice on the resume. With a record of 4-1-1 under the UFC banner, “Yogi Bear” has been making the right moves, and in the 265-pound division climbing the rankings comes a bit faster when compared to other loaded divisions. A win shoots him into the Top 10, but he has to be careful not to get into a fire-fight with Lewis because the power is still ever-so present.

What’s Not:

To be honest, this event is not that bad. I know we are constantly saying that we might be going through UFC overload — and at times we are correct — but even though people complain about Heavyweight stinkers, this one may surprise a lot of people. The rest of the matchups are pretty good, too, so do not sleep on an event that could provide a lot of highlight finishes.

Original Card vs. Actual Card:

A fight between Jared Gooden and Kevin Jousset was scratched after Gooden was yanked from the card prior to weigh ins for undisclosed medical reasons. Michael Johnson withdrew from his scheduled bout against Matt Frevola for undisclosed reasons, as well, and a late replacement for “Steamrolla” was not obtained, leading to a cancellation of the fight.

Injuries:

No injuries reported for this event.

New Blood:

No newcomers at this event.

How The ‘Prelims’ Look:

Suffering back-to-back losses can really deflate a fighter, but Terrance McKinney didn’t let the bad streak get to him, turning it right around to earn back-to-back first-round knockout wins over Mike Breeden and Brendon Marotte. He is eying his first-ever three-fight UFC win streak when he goes up against Esteban Ribovics, who picked up his first win under the UFC banner with a decision over Kamuela Kirk in July 2023.

After two years away from action, Tecia Pennington returns to the Octagon to face Tabatha Ricci in a women’s Strawweight fight. Pennington was last seen losing to Mackenzie Dern via split-decision at UFC 273 in April 2022, a loss that snapped her three-fight win streak. Ricci, meanwhile, also saw her four-fight win streak go out the window after losing to Loopy Godinez, also via split-decision, in Nov. 2023.

Contender Series standout, Billy Goff, had himself an explosive UFC debut by knocking out Yusaku Kinoshita in the very first round, picking up his seventh straight win in the process. His opponent Trey Waters — while not as dazzling — also earned a win in his promotional debut by defeating Josh Quinlan via unanimous decision over a year ago.

Charles Johnson was able to hold on to his spot on the UFC roster by defeating Azat Maksum in his previous fight, snapping his three-fight losing streak. Had he lost we probably wouldn’t be talking about him today. Nevertheless, he intends to build off that momentum as he takes on Jake Hadley, who is trying to climb back to the winner’s podium after suffering a loss to Cody Durden nine months ago.

JJ Aldrich and Veronica Hardy are both coming into their women’s Flyweight collision on two-fight winning streaks, and one lucky lady will get the chance to move closer to a ranking spot with a win. Believe it or not, Aldrich has been with the promotion for eight years now, but has yet been able to break through. As for Hardy, she started off her UFC career with three straight defeats, but has really turned it around by going 3-1 in her last four bouts.

Who Needs A Win Badly:

In all honesty, Derrick Lewis needs a win pretty badly here. Early on in his career, “Black Beast” was accustomed to securing highlight-reel knockouts. But over the course of the last three years, he hasn’t been too consistent in getting back to the winner’s circle, going just 2-5. He is coming off a loss, so the last thing he wants is to suffer another consecutive losing streak.

Interest Level: 5/10

Joaquin Buckley desperately wanted to get a spot on the card in order to fight in front of his hometown people, and he got just that as co-headliner, though he will be doing it against the red-hot Nursulton Ruziboev, who has won 10 straight fights (2-0 UFC). Still, it’s a great opportunity for Buckley, who is eying his fourth straight win. But Ruziboev is dangerous and it feels like this may be the fight that shoots him up a couple of pegs.

In the Light Heavyweight division, Alonzo Menifield and Carlos Ulberg will throw down in a bout that could steal the show. Ulberg stumbled out of the UFC gates with a loss in his debut, but bounced back to win his next five fights. If he can manage to secure a win over the No. 11 ranked fighter in the division, a spot in the Top 15 is guaranteed. Menifield, meanwhile, is on the cusp of cracking the top 10.

Alex Caceres was close to earning a rankings spot after going an impressive 7-1, but after losing to Giga Chikadze in his previous fight, “Bruce Leeroy” is now trying to find his groove again. He will find plenty of resistance, however, because Sean Woodson is 5-1-1 since joining UFC, though all but one of his wins have come via decision.

Undefeated at 5-0 (1-0 UFC), Robelis Despaigne is a finishing machine, ending all of his fights in the first round via knockout. He has just over five and a half minutes of cage time throughout his career, earning a 12-second knockout, a three-second knockout, and a four-second knockout along the way. In his UFC debut, he disposed of Josh Parisian in 18 seconds. He will look to keep his streak going when he goes up against the talented big man, Waldo Cortes-Acosta, who is 4-1 so far inside the Octagon. It’s a big opportunity for the Heavyweight because if he can stop the runaway freight train coming full speed ahead, his share of the spotlight grows immensely.

Enjoy the fights!

Full UFC St. Louis Fight Card:

UFC St. Louis Main Event On ESPN/ESPN+:

265 lbs.: Derrick Lewis vs. Rodrigo Nascimento

UFC St. Louis Main Card on ESPN/ESPN+ (7 p.m. ET):

170 lbs.: Joaquin Buckley vs. Nursulton Ruziboev
205 lbs.: Alonzo Menifield vs. Carlos Ulberg
155 lbs.: Diego Ferreira vs. Mateusz Rebecki
145 lbs.: Alex Caceres vs. Sean Woodson
265 lbs.: Waldo Cortes-Acosta vs. Robelis Despaigne

UFC St. Louis ‘Prelims’ Card on ESPN/ESPN+ (4 p.m. ET):

155 lbs.: Chase Hooper vs. Viacheslav Borshchev
155 lbs.: Terrance McKinney vs. Esteban Ribovics
115 lbs.: Tabatha Ricci vs. Tecia Pennington
170 lbs.: Billy Goff vs. Trey Waters
125 lbs.: Jake Hadley vs. Charles Johnson
~~170 lbs.:~~ ~~Jared Gooden~~ ~~vs.~~ ~~Kevin Jousset~~ – CANCELLED (details here)
125 lbs.: JJ Aldrich vs. Veronica Hardy

*Fight card, bout order and number of fights remain subject to change.*

MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC St. Louis fight card RIGHT HERE, starting with the ESPN/ESPN+ preliminary card bouts at 4 p.m. ET, followed by the ESPN/ESPN+ main card start time at 7 p.m. ET.

To check out the latest and greatest UFC St. Louis news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archives here and here. For the updated and finalized “Lewis vs. Nascimento” fight card and ESPN/ESPN+ lineup click here.