Jailton Almeida gave up about 30 pounds against Derrick Lewis, who cuts weight to make the 265-pound heavyweight limit, and the surging Almeida was still able to manhandle the knockout artist.
Almeida defeated Lewis via unanimous decision (50-44, 50-44, 50-45) in the main event of UFC Sao Paulo on Saturday night in Brazil. It was a one-sided fight, albeit a somewhat lackluster one. Almeida took Lewis down time after time and got into many dominant positions over 25 minutes, but he could not get the finish. Almeida didn't do a ton of damage, either.
Almeida's control time of 21 minutes, 10 seconds set a UFC heavyweight record and was fourth most overall, according to UFC Stats. It was the most control time in a UFC fight in 16 years, since Sean Sherk against Hermes Franca in 2007. Sherk's 22:18 control time in that fight is the all-time UFC record.
Before his five-round battle against Lewis, Almeida told Yahoo Sports' Kevin Iole he was already thinking about his future.
"I aspire to be the backup for UFC 295," Almeida said earlier this week. Heavyweights Tom Aspinall and Sergei Pavlovich will fight for the interim title in the co-main event of that card after champion Jon Jones was injured and forced to cancel his fight against ex-champion Stipe Miocic.
After going the full five rounds Saturday, it's highly doubtful Almeida will be available as a replacement fighter for next week's co-main event.
The co-main event featured Gabriel Bonfim putting his unbeaten record on the line against longtime veteran Nicolas Dalby. “Marretinha” had stopped four-straight opponents in the first round dating back to last year, but Dalby showed off some incredible toughness before he stopped the Brazilian late in the second round.
UFC officials will announce the winners of the “Fight of the Night” and the “Performance of the Night” bonuses, and winning fighters will meet the media after their fights.
The UFC Sao Paulo post-fight press conference takes place about 30 minutes after the main event ends, meaning it will start around 12:00 a.m. ET.
Read more
Match Recap: Alabama vs. LSU 42-28 Daylight Savings Time 2023 , when do clocks change ?Sarah H
Also on site :
- Anthony Joshua latest: Police launch hunt for man linked to Nigeria car crash after boxer discharged from hospital
- How to Watch Oakland Golden Grizzlies vs. Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons Women’s Basketball: Live Stream or on TV
- England unveil squad for Ashes 5th Test, Shoaib Bashir, Matthew Potts added for SCG tie