Jailton Almeida dominated Derrick Lewis for a long duration Saturday in Brazil, but there wasn’t much damage.
Regardless of the excitement level, Almeida (20-2 MMA, 6-0 UFC) dominated a former heavyweight title challenger in Lewis (27-12 MMA, 18-10 UFC) to win a unanimous decision (50-44, 50-44, 50-45).
The heavyweight bout was the UFC Fight Night 231 main event at Ginasio Do Ibirapuera in Sao Paulo.
According to UFC Stats, Almeida controlled Lewis for 21:10 of the fight. On the flip side, Lewis controlled the fight for 57 seconds.
The tempo was set in the opening minute as Almeida grabbed hold of Lewis, drove with a double leg, and lifted “The Black Beast” off his feet. Almeida took the mount and worked for submissions, particularly an arm-triangle choke, but Lewis displayed defense capable of danger-avoidance.
The entirety of the 25-minute fight was pretty much on a loop with minimal variety. Almeida maintained control from one dominant position or another. Lewis would occasionally power out, but would swiftly end up where he just escaped from.
At the beginning of each round, Lewis tried his best to land bombs. Coach Bob Cook called for the uppercut, but it never landed in any significant manner. The best flurry of the fight came in the waning seconds of Round 3 from Almeida, who appeared to stun a rising Lewis.
Lewis found more success with his takedown defense in the championship rounds, but not enough. Almeida cruised to a unanimous decision and then called for a fight vs. former interim champion Ciryl Gane.
Jailton Almeida wants Ciryl Gane next 👀 #UFCSP pic.twitter.com/99wpQkKd3B
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) November 5, 2023
With the victory, Almeida maintains his perfect UFC record and moves to 4-0 in the promotion at heavyweight. Lewis, who signed a lucrative new eight-fight promotional deal in September, falls to 1-4 in his most recent five.
Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 231 results include:
- Jailton Almeida def. Derrick Lewis via unanimous decision (50-44, 50-44, 50-45)
- Nicolas Dalby def. Gabriel Bonfim via TKO (strikes) – Round 2, 4:23
- Rodrigo Nascimento def. Don’Tale Mayes via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
- Caio Borralho def. Abus Magomedov via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
- Elves Brener def. Kaynan Kruschewsky via knockout (punch) – Round 1, 4:01
- Rinat Fakhretdinov vs. Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos declared majority draw (29-28, 28-28, 28-28)
- Vitor Petrino def. Modestas Bukauskas via knockout (punch) – Round 2, 1:03
- Angela Hill def. Denise Gomes via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
- Eduarda Moura def. Montserrat Conejo via TKO (strikes) – Round 2, 2:14
- Marc Diakiese def. Kaue Fernandes via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 30-27)
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 231.
