Jailton Almeida Dominates Derrick Lewis to Take Lopsided Decision at UFC Sao Paulo

Jailton Almeida took a step toward an Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight title shot after rag-dolling former title challenger Derrick Lewis (50-44, 50-44, 50-45) in the UFC Fight Night 231 main event at Ibirapuera Gymnasium in Sao Paulo.

Almeida (20-2) had his way all night with Lewis on the ground. “Malhadinho” has finished 12 fights by submission in his career but cautiously and calmly contained the devastating Lewis (27-12).

Unfortunately for the 32-year-old Brazilian, the victory still left much to be desired. Almeida’s respect for Lewis’ power was on full display.

Despite spending most of the fight in mount, Almeida took little risks in trying to finish Lewis. Referee Marc Goddard even warned Almeida several times to work, ignoring the effort needed to hold down the 265-pounder.

Almeida controlled most of the 25 minutes and even staggered Lewis with a head kick in the first round. There were moments when Lewis found space and let his thunderous hands go, but Almeida quickly took him back to the mat.

With the dominant win, Almeida improveed to 6-0 in the Octagon but his place in the heavyweight picture is still fuzzy. With Sergei Pavlovich and Tom Aspinall battling for the interim title at UFC 295 and the promotion eagerly awaiting Jon Jones’ return, Almeida remains on the back burner. In the meantime, Malhadinho hopes to set up a showdown with No. 1 ranked contender Ciryl Gane.

Power is the last thing to go for older fighters and that couldn’t be more true for 38-year-old Nicolas Dalby.

“Danish Dynamite” exploded for an exhilarating second-round comeback knockout (4:23) of previously undefeated Gabriel Bonfim.

Bonfim (15-1) brought his undefeated record into this matchup along with three-straight submission finishes but chose to trade with the heavy-handed Dane. Despite falling behind on the cards, Dalby was more than willing to play Bonfim’s game.

In Round 2, Dalby upped his pressure and stayed in his man’s face. Instead of level changing, Bonfim decided to trade but waned fast. As Bonfim’s technique began to slip. Dalby made him pay with vicious knees.

Dalby closed out the co-main event with a flurry of punches, forcing referee Jason Herzog to intervene at the 4:33 mark.

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It wasn’t pretty but Rodrigo Nascimento and Don'Tale Mayes rematched in a heavyweight slugfest that would put most drunken barroom fights to shame.

The two giants kept the fight standing. As Nascimento found success on the outside with long range punches and calf kicks, Mayes stayed in the fight with some crafty dirty boxing inside. Ultimately it was Nascimento’s sharpness and conditioning that led to the Brazilian’s third straight win: (30-27, 29-28, 29-28.)

Caio Borralho (14-1) kept his undefeated record in the Octagon intact with a unanimous decision win over the game Abusupiyan Magomedov (30-27, 29-28, 29-28.)

Despite the unanimous decision verdict, the two middleweights struggled to separate themselves. A lot of respect was shown in the first two rounds and neither fighter committed much to their shots.

That would change in the third round as Borralho came alive after landing an elbow that left Magomedov clearly shaken. Borralho followed up with a stiff knee and capped off his best round with a collection of combinations.

Borralho’s performance wasn’t his best but the rising prospect hopes his stock lifts him into a title eliminator against No. 2 ranked Dricus Du Plessis.

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Elves Brener might’ve entered the fold for knockout of the year consideration after putting Kaynan Kruschewsky to sleep in the first round (4:01) of their 165-pound catchweight bout.

Brenner (16-3, 3-0) is quickly becoming one of the UFC’s most exciting prospects. The 26-year-old’s won five fights in a row and just spoiled Kruschewsky’s UFC debut.

Both Brenner and Kruschewsky came into their showdown known for their grappling but Brenner proved to be more than a one-trick pony after catching “Bahia” on the ear with a counter left hook. Kruschewsky was asleep by the time his face crashed into the canvas.

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