Curtis Blaydes vs. Jailton Almeida to Headline UFC Sao Paulo Event on Nov. 4

The Ultimate Fighting Championship has booked a headliner for a show five months from now.

The UFC will be returning to Sao Paulo, Brazil, on Nov. 4 for a UFC Fight Night offering. The event, which will likely be held inside of the Ibirapuera Gymnasium, will feature a heavyweight main attraction of Curtis Blaydes (17-4, 1 NC) vs. Jailton Almeida (19-2). This fight and location were first reported by MMA Junkie on Thursday, and it was subsequently confirmed by other outlets. This would be the UFC’s first jaunt to the largest city in Brazil since UFC Fight Night 164 in November 2019.

Elevation Fight Team product Blaydes last competed in April, where he squared off against Sergei Pavlovich in a likely title eliminator match. Blaydes suffered a first-round knockout at the hands of the Russian, thereby halting a three-fight win streak Blaydes had amassed. In late 2021, Blaydes topped Jairzinho Rozenstruik on the scorecards, and “Razor” had a successful 2022 campaign by earning knockouts of Chris Daukaus and Tom Aspinall – although the latter came from a 15-second knee injury. The perennial contender has never lost a fight any way other than knockout, while earning a while 71% of his victories in that fashion.

Since his signing on the 2021 season of Dana White's Contender Series, the term “meteoric rise” certainly applies to Brazil’s Almeida. “Malhadinho” has rattled off five straight finishes with the organization since February 2022, including two finishes in 2023 already. Almeida started the year off strong by putting Shamil Abdurakhimov away with strikes in the second round, and he returned in May to throttle Rozenstruik with a first-round rear-naked choke. As a pro, all 19 of Almeida’s wins have come inside the distance.