Derrick Lewis and Jailton Almeida squared off in a Heavyweight contest earlier tonight (Sat., Nov. 4, 2023) at UFC Sao Paulo inside Ibirapuera Gymnasium in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Almeida landed an early high kick then blasted Lewis off his feet with a double leg takedown — a textbook start for the Brazilian. Right away, Almeida stepped into mount. He threw a few punches, and Lewis gave up his back. As Lewis tried to scramble, Almeida switched his attack to the arm triangle, but “The Black Beast” escaped.
Lewis bucked from the mount and gave up his back a second time. He nearly rolled his way into top position, but Almeida switched to a single leg takedown and floored him a second time. Back in mount, Almeida went back to hunting for the arm triangle. Once again, Lewis showed good defense in avoiding the strangle. This seemed to irritate Almeida, who punished him with some stiff punches from mount.
Almeida probably spent four of the first five minutes in mount.
Lewis tried to throw a big overhand to start the second, but Almeida ducked it perfectly for an effortless double leg. Before long, he was on the back and then in the mount again. He only landed the occasional elbow, however. The minutes ticked by as Almeida patiently pursued chokes, racking up control time without doing very much damage.
Lewis stuffed a pair of takedowns to start the third! Unfortunately, he was quickly tripped to the floor afterward, and Almeida returned to the mount position. When he moved to take the back, however, Lewis escaped out the back door and took top position for the first time. He landed a few shots, but Almeida transitioned into half guard and swept his way right back into mount. Once again, it was more control than damage, but Almeida managed to land a few good blows in the closing seconds of the third.
Both men were tired heading into the fourth frame.
Power double, mount, wrist control yet again for the Brazilian. The cycle repeated itself. Lewis couldn’t really escape, but Almeida was too tired to do much damage. No submission materialized. It was another dominant yet uninteresting round in favor of Jailton Almeida.
With five minutes remaining, Lewis was back on his feet and looking for the uppercut. After an extended bit of wrestling, “The Black Beast” managed to stuff a long attempt at a takedown. It seemed like an opportunity for Lewis, but another shot from Almeida got him down. Once again, he moved to mount and continued to throw little of significance. Seriously, he spent like 18 minutes out of 25 in mount!
This was a really, really strange fight. Almeida dominated, winning every round without question. He won almost every minute. Yet, he didn’t throw very many strikes, and somehow, the message to throw elbows from mount never sunk in! It was bizarre! Perhaps it was a reaction to Lewis’ strength, but Almeida has historically shown somewhat better ground striking.
Whatever the case, it’s yet another win for the Heavyweight grappling ace.
Result: Jailton Almeida defeats Derrick Lewis via unanimous decision
For complete UFC Sao Paulo: “Lewis vs. Almeida” results and play-by-play, click HERE!