Tomorrow night in the main event of UFC Sao Paulo, we will see a battle between two of the most dangerous men in the heavyweight division. Rising superstar Jailton Almeida (19-2) is getting the superstar treatment headlining a show in his home country against “The Black Beast” Derrick Lewis (27-11).
The UFC’s heavyweight knockout king will look to win his second straight fight tomorrow night. Back in July, Lewis took on Marcos Rogerio De Lima and entered that bout having lost three in a row. Lewis dropped De Lima with a flying knee and would finish him off in just 33 seconds.
While Lewis is still just 2-4 in his last six fights, it’s important to remember the context. Lewis has only lost to elite competition and there were a number of things playing against him in his loss to Serghei Spivak. However, Lewis looked healthy and elite the last time we saw him.
Jailton Almeida earned his contract back in 2021 on Dana White’s Contender Series and it was off to the races. Almeida made his official UFC debut February 2022 and thus far, he’s gone a perfect 5-0. Not only that, but not a single opponent has even seen the third round. Almeida has been nothing short of dominant and he’s hoping to dominate the Black Beast tomorrow in front of the Brazilian crowd.
UFC Sao Paulo Prediction
This fight is rather easy to break down. On one hand, you have the UFC’s heavyweight knockout king who can put anyone to sleep if he connects. That’s the way that Derrick Lewis wins fight and you have to imagine he’s going to be looking for the big shot tomorrow night. Meanwhile, Almeida is one of the more dominant grapplers you’ll see and on average it only takes him seconds to go for his first takedown.
The first takedown attempt is going to tell us a lot. It will come in the opening minute. If Lewis can defend and keep things at range at least for a while, he has a shot. You always have to give Derrick Lewis a chance. However, if Almeida gets him down with ease, it could be a quick night for Lewis.
I don’t believe that this fight will see a second round. Either Lewis will connect and knock Almeida out, or Almeida will get things to the ground and get a submission. I’m going with the latter here and I believe that Jailton Almeida will remain unbeaten in the UFC.
Prediction: Jailton Almeida by Submission – Round 1