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UFC Fight Night: Almeida v Lewis Ceremonial Weigh-in — Photo by Pedro Vilela/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

After a rare week off, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is back at it to stage UFC Sao Paulo later TONIGHT (Sat., Nov. 4, 2023) inside Ibirapuera Gymnasium in Sao Paulo, Brazil, airing exclusively on ESPN+. Headlining the event will be a Heavyweight bout between rising contender, Jailton Almeida, and former title challenger, Derrick Lewis. In the co-main event, Gabriel Bonfim will take on Nicolas Dalby in a Welterweight affair.

What’s Hot:

Derrick Lewis was at one time considered a major player in the Heavyweight division, a fan-favorite that everyone tuned in to see fight to deliver another highlight-reel knockout…or an epic post-fight speech. That’s not to say “Black Beast” isn’t that anymore, it’s just that you get the feeling he isn’t as big a draw as he once was. It could be because he is just 2-4 in his last six fights and prior to delivering a devastating knockout win over Marcos Rogerio de Lima in his most recent fight (see it here), he had lost three straight. But Lewis has a chance to earn his second straight win when he takes on rising big man, Jailton Almeida. And he will do it fresh off a legal dust-up in his hometown of Houston, Texas. Nevertheless, Lewis says he is focused on the task at hand and is out to prove that he is still a threat to be reckoned with as he goes for his nineteenth win inside the Octagon.

As for Almeida, he has quickly become a force in the 265-pound division, winning five straight fights — all stoppages, four in the first round — to earn the No. 9 spot in the rankings, while Lewis currently sits at No. 10. Almeida’s most recent win came against fellow knockout artist, Jairzinho Rozenstruik, though it was the Brazilian big man’s grappling that got him the win that night, submitting “Bigi Boy” in the very first round. Now, “Malhadinho” is out to get the biggest win of his young UFC career over “Black Beast,” which should catapult him into the Top 5. In doing so, the Contender Series standout will have one of the fastest ascensions up the ranks after making his UFC debut in Feb. 2022. It goes without saying that Almeida’s objective is to weather Lewis’ early onslaught of bombs, though that’s not to say “Black Beast” can’t catch him in the later rounds, because he can. Still, Almeida has never gone more than three rounds in his career, so there is no telling just how good his cardio will be in a potential five-round fight. But I don’t expect this fight to need the judges, and expect Almeida to come out with a technical knockout (TKO) win in Round 2.

What’s Not:

The weigh ins were a complete disaster after two fights were canceled as a result of scale fails courtesy of Vinc Pichel and Ismael Bonfim, as well as Daniel Marcos and Victor Hugo, who were to face one another. Rinat Fakhretdinov vs. Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos should have been moved to the main card after Pichel and Bonfim were yanked. Fakhretdinov is a rising star in the Welterweight division having won 20 straights fights, which includes his first three outings under the UFC banner. He was last seen disposing of Kevin Lee in the very first round this past summer. As for Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos, he has won two straight and is 3-1 in his last four, so I would have liked to have seen the promotion bump this up to the main card since it originally had six fights on it to begin with.

Original Card Vs. Actual Card:

Curtis Blaydes was originally set to face Jailton Almeida before he withdrew for undisclosed reasons, which paved the way for Derrick Lewis to step in on short notice. Nursulton Ruziboev was also yanked from the event for unknown reasons after he was lined up to face Middleweight sensation, Caio Borralho, who has been on an absolute tear having won his first four fights inside the Octagon. Overall, Borralho has won 11 in a row and will now attempt to get No. 12 against late replacement, Abus Magomedov, who was last seen losing to current 185-pound champion, Sean Strickland, this past July. Prior to that, Magomedov was on a three-fight win streak, collecting all three wins in different promotions which includes making a splash in his UFC debut by knocking out Dustin Stoltzfus in just 19 seconds (see it here).

As mentioned earlier, there were multiple fighters who missed weight that ultimately forced the promotion to cancel two fights last-minute. One of them was a main card fight between Vinc Pichel and Ismael Bonfim, both of whom missed weight for their Lightweight fight. A fight between Daniel Marcos and Victor Hugo was scrapped after both men failed to meet the Bantamweight limit.

Injuries:

UFC Fight Night: Emmett v Topuria Ceremonial Weigh-in

David Onama was in line to face off against Lucas Alexander in a Featherweight tilt but was forced out of the event after he suffered an undisclosed injury. As a result, the promotion opted to take Alexander off the card altogether.

New Blood:

Eduarda Mora did not start her UFC career off on the right foot after she failed to make the weight for her Strawweight contest against Montserrat Ruiz by three pounds. As a result, she has been fined 20-percent of her fight purse and the fight will now proceed at catchweight. For her sake, a win is of the utmost importance here because if she goes out there and lays an egg just like she did at weigh ins her UFC career could be over before it she gets a second fight. And it would be a shame, too, because she was coming in with some hype at 9-0, which includes a first-round submission win on the Contender Series.

Kaue Fernandes will get his shot in the big leagues after winning two straight on the regional circuit, which came after he suffered his first loss via decision in July 2021. Overall his is 8-1 in the 155-pound weight class and shows promise. He will have a tough task when he goes toe-to-toe against Marc Diakiese, who has competed inside the Octagon a whopping 14 times.

Kaynan Kruschewsky has won 15 fights so far in his mixed martial arts (MMA) career, and 13 of those have been devastating stoppages, which is why he was given a spot on the Contender Series to prove his worth. And he did it in spades by submitting Dylan Mantello in the very first round, earning him a UFC deal in the process. Now, the 10-year pro will look to impress once more in his official UFC debut against Elves Brener, winner of four straight. In his first couple of fights under the UFC banner, Brener defeated Zubaira Tukhugov via split-decision and knocked out Guram Kutateladze in the third round this past summer.

How The ‘Prelims’ Look:

The undercard took a hit after losing Daniel Marcos and Victor Hugo and now only has six fights. We have already discussed three of those bouts in our “New Blood” section, and the other will be broken down later in this piece. For now, lets take a look at the other two bouts filling out the “Prelims.”

Angela Hill can’t seem to build the momentum she so desperately wants. She did manage to snap her horrid three-fight losing streak by scoring back-to-back wins over Lupita Godinez and Emily Ducote, but her roll was slowed by Mackenzie Dern, who took it to “Overkill” this past summer to take home a unanimous decision win. Overall, Hill is just 3-6 in her last nine fights and will attempt to get back in the win column against Denise Gomes, who scored back-to-back technical knockout (TKO) wins over Bruna Brasil and Yazmin Jauregui in the span of four months. With a record of 8-2, Gomez has a chance to be a player in the Strawweight division, and a win over an established veteran like Hill definitely boosts her stock.

The matchup between Vitor Petrino and Modestas Bukauskas has flown under the radar because they don’t have the biggest names, but it’s a highly-interesting matchup between two surging Light Heavyweights. Petrino is undefeated at 9-0 and is 2-0 inside the Octagon. He is coming off a submission win over Marcin Prachnio this past summer, giving him a near 80-percent finish rate. Bukauskas, meanwhile, started off his UFC career at 1-3 with three straight losses, but he has really turned it around by winning four straight fights, two on the regional circuit before getting another shot inside the Octagon which led to a couple of wins.

Who Needs A Win Badly:

Marc Diakiese was once considered a future title contender early on in his career. And rightfully so because he came out guns blazing, winning his first three bouts inside the Octagon — two via knockout — to move to 12-0. But as quickly as he lit up the eight-sided cage, he started trending downward just as fast by losing three in a row. Since then he has only gone 4-4 and has lost his last two fights to Michael Johnson and Joel Alvarez, who submitted the British bomber this past summer. Should he lose his third straight, and to a newcomer, I wouldn’t put it out of the question for UFC to release him.

Interest Level: 5/10

In the co-main event, Gabriel Bonfim will face Nicolas Dalby in a Welterweight affair that I am very much excited for. Bonfim has made an immediate impact on the division early on in his career, winning his first two UFC fights via first-round submission totaling just 2:02 of actual cage time. Overall he is 15-0 (all stoppages) and is one of the most exciting prospects at the moment. Looking to halt his momentum before it picks up anymore steam will be Dalby, winner of three straight. In his second run with UFC Dalby has racked up a 5-1-1 record, which is a far cry from his first run which saw him him go just 1-2-1. This bout has “Fight of the Night” written all over it.

In further Heavyweight action, Rodrigo Nascimento and Don’Tale Mayes will collide in a battle of two hard-hitting big men who have a knack for finishing fights. While he does possess heavy hands, Nascimento actually has more submissions than knockouts with a 6-to-2 ratio. His last two wins, however, came by way of split-decision so he needs a more convincing win here if he wants to get on the map. As for Mayes, he is coming off a technical knockout (TKO) win over former UFC Heavyweight champion, Andrei Arlovski (highlights HERE).

At Middleweight, Armen Petrosyan and Rodolfo Vieira will collide in a battle of two men with identical records. both sitting at 9-2. Viera is 4-2 inside the Octagon and is fresh off a win over Cody Brundage, forcing him to tap to an arm-triangle choke this past April. Petrosyan, on the other hand, is 3-1 inside the Octagon with his lone loss coming to the aforementioned Caio Borralho. With six of his nine wins coming by way of knockout, Petrosyan is all business and is looking for a big win here to give him a shot to be considered for a spot on the rankings.

Enjoy the fights!

Full UFC Sao Paulo Fight Card:

UFC Sao Paulo Main Event On ESPN+:

265 lbs.: Jailton Almeida vs. Derrick Lewis (not Curtis Blaydes)

UFC Sao Paulo Main Card On ESPN+ (9 p.m. ET):

170 lbs.: Gabriel Bonfim vs. Nicolas Dalby
265 lbs.: Don’Tale Mayes vs. Rodrigo Nascimento
185 lbs.: Caio Borralho vs. Abus Magomedov
185 lbs.: Armen Petrosyan vs. Rodolfo Vieira
~~155 lbs.:~~ ~~Ismael Bonfim~~ ~~vs.~~ ~~Vinc Pichel~~ (CANCELED)

UFC Sao Paulo ‘Prelims’ Card On ESPN+ (6 p.m. ET):

155 lbs.: Elves Brener vs. Kaynan Kruschewsky
~~135 lbs.: Victor Hugo vs.~~ ~~Daniel Marcos~~ (CANCELED)
170 lbs.: Rinat Fakhretdinov vs. Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos
205 lbs.: Modestas Bukauskas vs. Vitor Petrino
115 lbs.: Denise Gomes vs. Angela Hill
115 lbs.: Eduarda Moura vs. Montserrat Ruiz
155 lbs.: Marc Diakiese vs. Kaue Fernandes

*Fight card, bout order and number of fights remain subject to change.*

MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC Sao Paulo fight card RIGHT HERE, starting with the ESPN+ preliminary card bouts at 6 p.m. ET, followed by the ESPN+ main card start time at 9 p.m. ET.

To check out the latest and greatest UFC Sao Paulo news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive here. For the updated and finalized “Almeida vs. Lewis” fight card and ESPN+ lineup click here.