The UFC is returning to Sao Paulo, Brazil on November 4th and there’s a big time heavyweight matchup in the main event. Jailton Almeida (19-2) was set to take on Curtis “Razor” Blaydes (17-4). However, that fight is no longer happening per Ag.Fight.
The outlet reported today that Blaydes is out of the upcoming fight. With that, the UFC has been forced to pivot and boy have they done just that. It’s being reported that “The Black Beast” Derrick Lewis (27-11) will be stepping in to face off against Almeida.
The last time we saw Lewis was back in July against Marcos Rogerio de Lima at UFC 291. It was the last fight on Lewis’ contract and he entered the bout having lost three fights in a row. The Black Beast stormed out of the gate and dropped De Lima with a flying knee and finished him off seconds later.
It wasn’t long after that night before Lewis signed a new deal with the promotion. Now, he’s facing off against one of the hottest rising contenders in the division in front of his opponent’s home fans.
UFC Sao Paulo
After earning a contract on Dana White’s Contender Series, Almeida was going to focus on the light heavyweight division in the UFC. However, after fighting up in weight, he decided to stay at heavyweight despite being a little undersized.
The size disadvantage has yet to play out inside the octagon. In fact, Almeida has ran through the competition thus far in the UFC’s heavyweight division and hasn’t even seen a scorecard. Overall, he’s 5-0 inside the octagon with five finishes. He’s only seen the second round once.
Most recently, he headlined UFC Charlotte against Jairzinho Rozenstruik. He was able to take Rozenstruik down and once he got him to the mat, the fight was essentially over. He moved through Rozenstruik’s guard and submitted him. Lewis is going to be Almeida’s biggest test so far and if he wins, he might be only a win or two away from real title contention.