Storylines: UFC on ESPN 56

Derrick Lewis still inspires fear and wonder after all these years.

“The Black Beast” will draw main-event duties for the 12th time in the Ultimate Fighting Championship when he confronts Rodrigo Nascimento in the UFC on ESPN 56 headliner this Saturday at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis. Lewis, 39, has lost five of his past seven bouts, his physical skills in a natural state of decline at this late stage of his career. The former Legacy Fighting Championship titleholder last competed at UFC Fight Night 231, where he dropped a unanimous decision to Jailton Almeida on Nov. 4. His recent struggles notwithstanding, Lewis still ranks first on the UFC’s all-time list with 14 knockouts and maintains a reputation as a box-office attraction. On the other side of the equation, Nascimento has rattled off three straight wins and climbed into the Top 15 for the first time. The 31-year-old Brazilian operates out of American Top Team in Coconut Creek, Florida, and punched his ticket to the UFC via Dana White’s Contender Series in 2019. Nascimento has delivered nearly half (six) of his 11 career victories by submission.

The Lewis-Nascimento showdown and its resulting fallout for the heavyweight division is but one storyline to watch at UFC on ESPN 56. Here are three more:

Home Sweet Home

Joaquin Buckley was granted his wish to compete on old stomping grounds. The St. Louis native will ply his trade in his hometown for the first time in almost eight years when he locks horns with Nursulton Ruziboev in the three-round welterweight co-feature. Buckley enters the Octagon on the strength of a three-fight winning streak, having beaten Andre Fialho, Alex Morono and Vicente Luque in succession. “New Mansa” owns a respectable 8-4 record in the UFC, his run highlighted by a viral spinning back kick knockout of Impa Kasanganay in October 2020. Ruziboev would like nothing more than to spoil his counterpart’s homecoming. The well-traveled Uzbekistan native posted his 10th consecutive victory on March 30, when he buried Sedriques Dumas with punches in the first round of their UFC on ESPN 54 pairing. Ruziboev, 30, has 25 first-round finishes to his credit, including five of the sub-minute variety. Can Buckley navigate some clear-and-present danger and send friends and family home with smiles on their faces?

Window of Opportunity

All signs point to Carlos Ulberg trending in the right direction. The toolsy City Kickboxing standout will get his chance to crack the Top 15 at 205 pounds when he takes on fellow DWCS alum Alonzo Menifield in a three-round light heavyweight showcase. Ulberg, 33, steps back into the spotlight on the heels of five straight wins. “Black Jag” last fought at UFC 293, where he put away Da Woon Jung with a rear-naked choke in the third round of their Sept. 9 encounter. It followed decisive Ulberg victories over Ihor Potieria, Nicolae Negumereanu, Tafon Nchukwi and Fabio Cherant. Menefield, meanwhile, has gone 4-0-1 in five outings—a draw with Jimmy Crute sticks out as the lone hiccup—since his 2021 defeat to William Knight. The 36-year-old Saekson Muay Thai product last suited up on Dec. 16, when he laid claim to a unanimous decision over Dustin Jacoby at UFC 296. Menifield has delivered 13 of his 15 professional wins by knockout, technical knockout or submission. Will Ulberg put forth a breakthrough performance many have long sought from him?

Heavy Hitters

Intrigue surrounds Robelis Despaigne. The explosive 35-year-old taekwondo stylist—he was a bronze medalist for Cuba at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London—carries a perfect 5-0 record into his heavyweight appetizer opposite Waldo Cortes-Acosta. Despaigne dazzled in his March 9 promotional debut, as he cut down Josh Parisian with punches a mere 18 seconds into their UFC 299 prelim. The physically imposing 6-foot-7, 260-pound Cuban has registered his last four wins in an almost-unimaginable 37 seconds combined. Into that fire steps Cortes-Acosta, a former Legacy Fighting Alliance champion. “Salsa Boy” has rebounded from an April 2023 decision defeat to Marcos Rogerio Lima with back-to-back victories over Lukasz Brzeski and Andrei Arlovski. Cortes-Acosta was a pitching prospect in the Cincinnati Reds’ system before he made the move to mixed martial arts. Does Despaigne have the staying power necessary to live up to the considerable hype building behind him?