UFC Sao Paulo 2023 Results: Jailton Almeida dominates Derrick Lewis in surprising 5-round main event

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Sao Paulo, November 4: Jailton Almeida dominated Derrick Lewis over five rounds in the main event of UFC Sao Paulo 2023: Almeida vs. Lewis at the Ginasio do Ibirapuera in Sao Paulo, Brazil on Saturday (November 4) night.

The raucous and MMA-savvy crowd at the sold-out arena, which recorded the largest attendance for a UFC event in Sao Paulo history, chanted for the Brazilians stacked on the card as they went 7-3 with 4 of 10 bouts ending in stoppage, while the remaining went the distance.

Four fights ended in stoppages - either knock out (KO) or technical knock out (TKO), while five ended in decision wins and one fight ended in a draw. Four fighters also earned bonuses.

While the co-main event fight between Nicolas Dalby and Gabriel Bonfim was awarded the fight of the night, Vitor Petrino and Elves Brener also pocketed an extra USD50K for their respective stoppage wins on the under card. Here is a recap of the event.

UFC Sao Paulo 2023 Recap

In the main event, No. 9 ranked heavyweight submission specialist Almeida made it all one-way traffic against No. 10 knockout artist Lewis in a bout that nobody expected would go the full five rounds.

With perfectly timed takedowns in every round, Almeida controlled Lewis on the canvas, alternating between submission attempts and ground and pound from mount. Lewis showed his toughness by defending to the final bell, but the decision was firmly in Almeida's grasp.

Following the decision win, Almeida said, "He wanted a brawl, and I said I'd give you guys a show. We came up with a strategy for this fight, and we were able to keep him down. I was touched (by his punches), but I didn't really feel it. I'm going to call out a name: I want Ciryl Gane, wherever, let's do it!"

In the co-main event, Welterweights Bonfim and Dalby could not have been any more different from one another stylistically in their match up, and it made for a thrilling co-main event.

Bonfim - to the delight of his home town audience - owned the first round, dragging his opponent down into his world of grappling. Dalby returned in the second with a vengeance, clinching and throwing big knees that finally knocked down Bonfim, putting the first loss on the Brazilian's record.

After the stoppage win, Dalby said, "The Brazilian fans, you are amazing! We knew he would come out guns blazing, and he did. His top control was pretty good. I do what I do, I turn it into a dogfight, and I get the victory. Give me a top 15 next time, and let's do a fight Copenhagen!"

Also on the main card, Elves Brener stopped Kaynan Kruschewsky in the first round of a catchweight bout before Rodrigo Nascimento and Caio Borralho earned decision wins in their respective bouts against Don'Tale Mayes and Abus Magomedov.

Meanwhile, the preliminary card saw welterweights Rinat Fakhretdinov and Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos fight to a majority draw after Vitor Petrino finished Modestas Bukauskas in the second round of a light heavyweight bout.

Plus, Eduarda Moura stopped Montserrat Conejo in a women's catchweight bout, while Angela Hill earned a unanimous decision win over Denise Gomes in a women's strawweight bout, and Marc Diakiese edged Kaue Fernandes for a split decision in the event opening lightweight bout.

UFC Sao Paulo 2023 Results

• Heavyweight Bout: Jailton Almeida defeats Derrick Lewis by unanimous decision (50-44, 50-44, 50-45)
• Welterweight Bout: Nicolas Dalby defeats Gabriel Bonfim by TKO (strikes) at 4:33 of Round 2
• Heavyweight Bout: Rodrigo Nascimento defeats Don'Tale Mayes by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
• Middleweight Bout: Caio Borralho defeats Abus Magomedov by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
• Catchweight (165 lb) Bout: Elves Brener defeats Kaynan Kruschewsky by KO (left hand) at 4:01 of Round 1
• Welterweight Bout: Rinat Fakhretdinov and Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos fight to a majority draw (29-28, 28-28, 28-28)
• Light Heavyweight Bout: Vitor Petrino defeats Modestas Bukauskas by KO (left hook) at 1:03 of Round 2
• Women's Strawweight Bout: Angela Hill defeats Denise Gomes by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
• Women's Catchweight (119.5 lb) Bout: Eduarda Moura defeats Montserrat Conejo Ruiz by TKO (strikes) at 2:14 of Round 2
• Lightweight Bout: Marc Diakiese defeats Kauê Fernandes by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 30-27)