UFC Sao Paulo will see a flood of Brazilian talent littered throughout the card as Jailton Almeida takes on Derrick Lewis in his home turf.
We will be bringing you live updates, results and highlights from all the action from the prelim opener, all the way through to the main event.
UFC São Paulo Main Event
The main event, as with every single other fight on this card, will see a Brazilian headline for the second time in his UFC career to-date. Rising contender Jailton Almeida looks to be the real deal. Almeida has not yet been to a points decision in his career. In 21 contests, he has 19 wins and 2 defeats. Of those wins, 7 have come by way of knockout, whilst the other 12 all ended with a submission.
What we have seen from Jailton Almeida so far has been flawless, he has looked incredible. Finish, after finish, after finish, has led many to grow optimistic that we may be looking at a future heavyweight king. The UFC certainly believes the hype, hence them originally booking this contest to be Almeida vs Curtis Blaydes. Almeida and Blaydes had most peoples attention, as it was thought that with his heavy hands and relentless wrestling, Curtis Blaydes would show us what level Almeida was really at but unfortunately Blaydes was forced to withdraw from the contest and that particular style of threat then diminished.
Not to worry. We had another threat, a different threat but a threat none-the-less willing to step in and take a fight with Almeida. That’s right, ‘The Black Beast’ himself, Derrick Lewis replaces Blaydes in the main event. Lewis sets a record for the most main events by a non-champion (10) which speaks volumes about how highly the UFC and the fans around the world rate Derrick Lewis. He is an entertainer, comic, and killer.
Lewis holds the record for the most finishes in UFC history so it is fair to say the threat to Almeida here is clear. This one will go early. If Almeida has his way, he will run through Derrick Lewis, grab hold of him, throw him to the mats and submit him in the first round. That, is what most people are expecting. But… and it’s a big but… This is Derrick Lewis, if Jailton Almeida is not careful, he risks running into a knockout punch that has ended so many dreams over the years.
This is a do-not-miss-this moment. This fight will go early, one way or another.
Co-Main Event
The Co-Main event will see undefeated submission king Gabriel Bonfim, fresh off a first round victory over Trevin Giles look to continue his charge towards a ranking. To do so, he will face a step up in competition against the ‘Danish Dynamite’ Nicolas Dalby. Dalby has never been stopped in his MMA career and holds victories over Alex Oliveira, Daniel Rodriguez and Muslim Salikhov, as well as a draw against Darren Till.
Bonfim will no doubt look to run through Dalby and make a statement here but he may need to work a lot harder than he has to date as the durable Dane looks to build on his three fight win streak and beat down one of the hottest prospects in the UFC today.
UFC São Paulo Main Card – Starts 01:00AM on TNT Sports – UK Time
As we continue to work our way down the main card, number 15 ranked Rodrigo Nascimento will aim to defend his ranking from Don’Tale Mayes in the heavyweight division. Mayes comes into the contest following a victory over Andre Arlovski whilst Nascimento enters the bout with a victory over Ilir Latifi. From heavyweight to middleweight we go as exciting talent Caio Borralho takes on Abus Magomedov. Borralho comes into this contest fresh off a submission win over Michal Oleksiejczuk, whilst Magomedov looks to return to winning ways following defeat at the hands of the now-middleweight champion of the world, Sean Strickland.
Another mouthwatering contest in the middleweight division between Rodolfo Vieira and Armen Petrosyan is one not to miss and the main card opener between Ismael Bonfim and Vinc Pichel promises to deliver a highlight reel moment.
UFC São Paulo Prelim Card – Starts 22:00PM on UFC Fight Pass – UK Time
The prelim card kicks off with debutant Kaue Fernandes taking on Marc Diakiese. Diakiese will be desperate for a win here and may need to do so in devastating style. Eduarda Moura takes on Montserrat Ruiz, followed by Lucas Alexander and David Onama. Number 12 ranked Angela Hill takes on Denise Gomes as she aims to defend her ranking in the women’s strawweight division. Undefeated Vitor Petrino will look to continue his charge as he comes up against Modestas Bukauskas who is also in fine form recently.
Victor Hugo makes his UFC debut as he takes on Daniel Marcos fresh off his contentious win over Davey Grant and Rinat Fakhretdinov will look to continue his surge following his retiring of Kevin Lee when he takes on Elizeu Zaleski Dos Santos. The final fight on the prelims comes as two lightweights in Elves Brener and Esteban Ribovics aim to impress in the lightweight division.
UFC São Paulo: Live Results and Highlights
Main Card
Heavyweight: Jailton Almeida Vs Derrick Lewis
Result: Almeida def. Lewis via Unanimous Decision (50-45, 50-44, 50-44)
Highlights:
Welterweight: Gabriel Bonfim Vs Nicolas Dalby
Result: Dalby def. Bonfim via TKO (punches) Round 2 4:33
Highlights:
Heavyweight: Rodrigo Nascimento Vs Don’Tale Mayes
Result: Nascimento def. Mayes via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Highlights:
Middleweight: Caio Borralho Vs Abus Magomedov
Result: Borralho def. Magomedov via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Highlights:
Lightweight: Elves Brener Vs Kayan Kruschewsky
Result: Brener def. Kruschewsky via KO (left overhand) Round 1 4:01
Highlights:
Prelim Card
Welterweight: Rinat Fakhretdinov Vs Elizeu Zaleski Dos Santos
Result: Majority Draw (29-28, 28-28, 28-28)
Highlights:
Light Heavyweight: Vitor Petrino Vs Modestas Bukauskas
Result: Petrino def. Bukauskas via KO (left hook) Round 2 1:03
Highlights:
Women’s Strawweight: Angela Hill Vs Denise Gomes
Result: Hill def. Gomes via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Highlights:
Women’s Strawweight: Eduarda Moura Vs Montserrat Ruiz
Result: Moura def. Ruiz via TKO (ground & pound) Round 2 2:14
Highlights:
Lightweight: Kaue Fernandes Vs Marc Diakiese
Result: Diakiese def. Fernandes via Split Decision (30-27, 29-28, 28-29)
Highlights:
UFC Sao Paulo Almeida Vs Lewis: Live results and highlights.
Featured videos credited to the UFC.
Images Credited to SportsKeeda
