UFC Fight Night: Almeida vs. Lewis

UFC Fight Night: Almeida vs. Lewis (also known as UFC Fight Night 231 and UFC on ESPN+ 89) was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on November 4, 2023, at Ginásio do Ibirapuera in São Paulo, Brazil.[2]

UFC Fight Night: Almeida vs. Lewis
The poster for UFC Fight Night: Almeida vs. Lewis
PromotionUltimate Fighting Championship
DateNovember 4, 2023 (2023-11-04)
VenueGinásio do Ibirapuera
CitySão Paulo, Brazil
Attendance10,792[1]
Event chronology
UFC 294: Makhachev vs. Volkanovski 2 UFC Fight Night: Almeida vs. Lewis UFC 295: Procházka vs. Pereira

Background

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The event marked the promotion's ninth visit to São Paulo and first since UFC Fight Night: Błachowicz vs. Jacaré in November 2019.[2]

The event was expected to be headlined by a heavyweight bout between Curtis Blaydes and Jailton Almeida.[3] However, Blaydes withdrew for unknown reasons and was replaced by former UFC Heavyweight Championship challenger Derrick Lewis.[4]

A women's strawweight bout between Eduarda Moura and Kim So-yul was scheduled for the event.[5] However, Kim was removed from the event for undisclosed reasons and replaced by Montserrat Ruiz.[6] At the weigh-ins, Moura weighed in at 119.5 pounds, three and a half pounds over the strawweight non-title fight limit. The bout proceeded at catchweight and she was fined 30% of her purse which went to Ruiz.[7]

A middleweight bout between Caio Borralho and Nursulton Ruziboev was expected to take place at the event.[8] However, Ruziboev withdrew for unknown reasons and was replaced by Abus Magomedov.[9]

A bantamweight bout between Daniel Santos and Daniel Marcos was expected to take place at the event.[10] However, Santos pulled out due to undisclosed reasons and was replaced by promotional newcomer Victor Hugo.[11] However, the bout was scrapped after Hugo weighed in at 138.5 pounds, two and a half pounds over the bantamweight non-title fight limit.[7]

A featherweight bout between Lucas Alexander and David Onama was scheduled to take place in the preliminary card.[12] However, the bout was cancelled after Onama suffered an injury.[13]

At the weigh-ins, Ismael Bonfim weighed in at 159.5 pounds, three and a half pounds over the lightweight non-title fight limit. As a result, his scheduled bout with Vinc Pichel was scrapped.[7]

A middleweight bout between Rodolfo Vieira and Armen Petrosyan was scheduled to take place on the main card, but it was scrapped after Petrosyan became ill backstage during the event.[14]

Results

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Main card (ESPN+)
Weight class Method Round Time Notes
Heavyweight Jailton Almeida def. Derrick Lewis Decision (unanimous) (50–44, 50–44, 50–45) 5 5:00
Welterweight Nicolas Dalby def. Gabriel Bonfim TKO (knees and punches) 2 4:33
Heavyweight Rodrigo Nascimento def. Don'Tale Mayes Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 29–28, 29–28) 3 5:00
Middleweight Caio Borralho def. Abus Magomedov Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 29–28, 29–28) 3 5:00
Catchweight (165 lb) Elves Brener def. Kaynan Kruschewsky KO (punch) 1 4:01
Preliminary card (ESPN+)
Welterweight Rinat Fakhretdinov vs. Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos Draw (majority) (29–28, 28–28, 28–28) 3 5:00
Light Heavyweight Vitor Petrino def. Modestas Bukauskas KO (punch) 2 1:03
Women's Strawweight Angela Hill def. Denise Gomes Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 29–28, 29–28) 3 5:00
Catchweight (119.5 lb) Eduarda Moura def. Montserrat Ruiz TKO (punches) 2 2:14
Lightweight Marc Diakiese def. Kauê Fernandes Decision (split) (29–28, 28–29, 30–27) 3 5:00

[15]

Bonus awards

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The following fighters received $50,000 bonuses.[16]

  • Fight of the Night: Nicolas Dalby vs. Gabriel Bonfim
  • Performance of the Night: Elves Brener and Vitor Petrino

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Bohn, Mike (November 5, 2023). "UFC Fight Night 231 post-event facts: Jailton Almeida sets ground control time record". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Archived from the original on November 5, 2023. Retrieved November 6, 2023.
  2. ^ a b Machado, Mateus (August 12, 2023). "UFC São Paulo é confirmado para novembro com duelo entre Blaydes e Malhadinho na luta principal; confira" [UFC São Paulo is confirmed for November with a duel between Blaydes and Malhadinho in the main event; check out]. tatame.com.br (in Brazilian Portuguese). Archived from the original on August 14, 2023. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
  3. ^ Meshew, Jed (June 1, 2023). "Curtis Blaydes vs. Jailton Almeida targeted for UFC main event in Sao Paulo". mmafighting.com. Archived from the original on June 9, 2023. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
  4. ^ King, Nolan; Bohn, Mike (October 9, 2023). "Derrick Lewis replaces Curtis Blaydes, headlines UFC Sao Paulo vs. Jailton Almeida". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Archived from the original on October 10, 2023. Retrieved October 9, 2023.
  5. ^ "Eduarda Ronda estreia no UFC São Paulo contra adversária sul-coreana" [Eduarda Ronda debuts at UFC São Paulo against South Korean opponent]. ge.globo.com (in Brazilian Portuguese). September 1, 2023. Archived from the original on October 4, 2023. Retrieved October 1, 2023.
  6. ^ King, Nolan (September 18, 2023). "Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (Sept. 11-17)". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Archived from the original on September 20, 2023. Retrieved September 19, 2023.
  7. ^ a b c "UFC Fight Night 231 weigh-in results: Three miss marks in Sao Paulo, two fights scrapped". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. November 3, 2023. Archived from the original on November 7, 2023. Retrieved November 3, 2023.
  8. ^ Leonard, Harvey (July 23, 2023). "UFC Matchmaking Bulletin (7/17-7/23): Caio Borralho & 'Blood Diamond' have returns announced, six cancellations". mmanews.com. Archived from the original on October 11, 2023. Retrieved October 8, 2023.
  9. ^ "Abus Magomedov steps in to face Caio Borralho at UFC Sao Paulo". mmafighting.com. October 8, 2023. Archived from the original on October 9, 2023. Retrieved October 8, 2023.
  10. ^ Tiwari, Shivam (September 1, 2023). "Daniel Santos vs Daniel Marcos reported for UFC Sao Paulo". itnwwe.com. Archived from the original on October 27, 2023. Retrieved October 16, 2023.
  11. ^ "UFC Sao Paulo: Daniel Santos out, Victor Hugo debuts vs Daniel Marcos". itnwwe.com. October 11, 2023. Archived from the original on October 27, 2023. Retrieved October 16, 2023.
  12. ^ Martinez, Diego (September 20, 2023). "David Onama vs. Lucas Alexander añadido al UFC São Paulo" [David Onama vs. Lucas Alexander added to UFC São Paulo]. mmaaldia.com (in Spanish). Archived from the original on November 2, 2023. Retrieved November 2, 2023.
  13. ^ Cruz, Guilherme (October 31, 2023). "Injury knocks David Onama, Lucas Alexander off UFC Sao Paulo". mmafighting.com. Archived from the original on October 31, 2023. Retrieved October 31, 2023.
  14. ^ Anderson, Jay (November 4, 2023). "UFC Sao Paulo: Rodolfo Vieira vs. Armen Petrosyan cancelled last minute". cagesidepress.com. Archived from the original on November 5, 2023. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
  15. ^ "UFC Fight Night: Almeida vs. Lewis". UFC. Archived from the original on August 13, 2023. Retrieved August 11, 2023.
  16. ^ Taylor, Chris (November 4, 2023). "UFC Sao Paulo Bonus Report: Nicolas Dalby one of four fighters to take home $50k". bjpenn.com. Archived from the original on November 5, 2023. Retrieved November 4, 2023.