Jailton
Almeida took a step toward an
Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight title shot after
rag-dolling former title challenger Derrick
Lewis (50-44, 50-44, 50-45) in the
UFC Fight Night 231 main event at Ibirapuera Gymnasium in Sao
Paulo.
Almeida (20-2) had his way all night with Lewis on the ground.
“Malhadinho” has finished 12 fights by submission in his career but
cautiously and calmly contained the devastating Lewis (27-12).
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Unfortunately for the 32-year-old Brazilian, the victory still left
much to be desired. Almeida’s respect for Lewis’ power was on full
display.
Despite spending most of the fight in mount, Almeida took little
risks in trying to finish Lewis. Referee Marc Goddard
even warned Almeida several times to work, ignoring the effort
needed to hold down the 265-pounder.
Almeida controlled most of the 25 minutes and even staggered Lewis
with a head kick in the first round. There were moments when Lewis
found space and let his thunderous hands go, but Almeida quickly
took him back to the mat.
With the dominant win, Almeida improveed to 6-0 in the Octagon but
his place in the heavyweight picture is still fuzzy. With Sergei
Pavlovich and Tom
Aspinall battling for the interim title at
UFC 295 and the promotion eagerly awaiting Jon Jones’
return, Almeida remains on the back burner. In the meantime,
Malhadinho hopes to set up a showdown with No. 1 ranked contender
Ciryl
Gane.
Power is the last thing to go for older fighters and that couldn’t
be more true for 38-year-old Nicolas
Dalby.
“Danish Dynamite” exploded for an exhilarating second-round
comeback knockout (4:23) of previously undefeated Gabriel
Bonfim.
Bonfim (15-1) brought his undefeated record into this matchup along
with three-straight submission finishes but chose to trade with the
heavy-handed Dane. Despite falling behind on the cards, Dalby was
more than willing to play Bonfim’s game.
In Round 2, Dalby upped his pressure and stayed in his man’s face.
Instead of level changing, Bonfim decided to trade but waned fast.
As Bonfim’s technique began to slip. Dalby made him pay with
vicious knees.
Dalby closed out the co-main event with a flurry of punches,
forcing referee Jason Herzog to intervene at the 4:33 mark.
It wasn’t pretty but Rodrigo
Nascimento and Don’Tale
Mayes rematched in a heavyweight slugfest that would put most
drunken barroom fights to shame.
The two giants kept the fight standing. As Nascimento found success
on the outside with long range punches and calf kicks, Mayes stayed
in the fight with some crafty dirty boxing inside. Ultimately it
was Nascimento’s sharpness and conditioning that led to the
Brazilian’s third straight win: (30-27, 29-28, 29-28.)
Caio
Borralho (14-1) kept his undefeated record in the Octagon
intact with a unanimous decision win over the game Abusupiyan
Magomedov (30-27, 29-28, 29-28.)
Despite the unanimous decision verdict, the two middleweights
struggled to separate themselves. A lot of respect was shown in the
first two rounds and neither fighter committed much to their
shots.
That would change in the third round as Borralho came alive after
landing an elbow that left Magomedov clearly shaken. Borralho
followed up with a stiff knee and capped off his best round with a
collection of combinations.
Borralho’s performance wasn’t his best but the rising prospect
hopes his stock lifts him into a title eliminator against No. 2
ranked Dricus Du
Plessis.
Elves
Brener might’ve entered the fold for knockout of the year
consideration after putting Kaynan
Kruschewsky to sleep in the first round (4:01) of their
165-pound catchweight bout.
Brenner (16-3, 3-0) is quickly becoming one of the UFC’s most
exciting prospects. The 26-year-old’s won five fights in a row and
just spoiled Kruschewsky’s UFC debut.
Both Brenner and Kruschewsky came into their showdown known for
their grappling but Brenner proved to be more than a one-trick pony
after catching “Bahia” on the ear with a counter left hook.
Kruschewsky was asleep by the time his face crashed into the
canvas.
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