UFC Sao Paulo: How to watch Almeida vs. Lewis, lineup, odds, more

mmajunkie.usatoday.com

30 October 2023

UFC Sao Paulo: How to watch Almeida vs. Lewis, lineup, odds, more

The UFC is back in Brazil on Saturday for UFC Fight Night 231 in Sao Paulo.

Here’s what you need to know to watch UFC Fight Night 231 on ESPN+.

UFC Fight Night 231 will be the promotion’s ninth trip to Sao Paulo, Brazil’s largest city and the 12th most populated city in the world. Overall, this will be the UFC’s 39th event in Brazil and second this year. UFC 283 took place in January in Rio de Janeiro. Approaching its 67th birthday, the Ginasio Do Ibirapuera seats north of 10,000 fans, making it an ideal size for non-pay-per-view UFC shows.

UFC Fight Night 231 has a main card that begins at 9 p.m. ET and streams on ESPN+. The prelims stream on ESPN+, as well, beginning at 6 p.m. ET.

It feels like this is the big one for Jailton Almeida (19-2 MMA, 5-0 UFC). If the 32-year-old Brazilian can take out two-time heavyweight title challenger Derrick Lewis, he’ll stay unbeaten in the UFC and will move to 15 straight wins. It’d be hard to deny him a spot in the newly complicated title picture. Almeida cut to light heavyweight for Dana White’s Contender Series and his UFC debut, but has been back at heavyweight for his past four wins – all of which have been finishes like every other victory on his resume.

Derrick Lewis (27-11 MMA, 18-9 UFC) hasn’t always been favored throughout his career. He’s no stranger to being the underdog. But he hasn’t been this big of an underdog in more than a decade, since he upset 6-1 favorite Jared Rosholt to win the Legacy FC heavyweight title in 2012. That may be an indication of just how highly Jailton Almeida is regarded if he’s a bigger favorite against Lewis than was Daniel Cormier, Curtis Blaydes or even Francis Ngannou, whom Lewis has a win over. Lewis, the UFC’s knockout king, got back in the win column after a three-fight skid when he knocked out Marcos Rogerio de Lima in July at UFC 291.

Three bouts after his lightweight brother Israel kicks off the main card, Gabriel Bonfim (15-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) will throw down with Nicolas Dalby in the welterweight co-main event. Bonfim will no doubt get a huge pop from his home fans in Brazil. The 26-year-old not only is unbeaten, but has all 15 of his pro wins by stoppage, including a dozen submissions. Bonfim has four straight first-round submission wins using four different chokes.

Nicolas Dalby (22-4-1 MMA, 6-3-1 UFC), a 38-year-old Danish fighter in his second stint in the UFC, has been on a solid run with three straight decision wins over Claudio Silva, Warlley Alves and Muslim Salikhov. Dalby has just one loss on his record the past five and a half years (a submission loss to Jesse Ronson was flipped to a no contest). But against Gabriel Bonfim, Dalby will be the biggest underdog on the entire card.

Victor Hugo (24-4 MMA, 0-0 UFC) has been in the fight game for more than a dozen years. Saturday, he’ll finally make his UFC debut when he takes on Daniel Marcos (15-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) at bantamweight. Hugo has not lost in nearly 10 years and has 13 straight wins. Earlier this month, a second-round kneebar on Dana White’s Contender Series punched his ticket to the UFC and this short-notice opportunity after Daniel Santos pulled out.

Eduarda Moura (9-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC), a 29-year-old Brazilian, was set to fight So Yul Kim for her official UFC debut in her home country. Instead, she has late replacement Montserrat Conejo (10-3 MMA, 1-2 UFC) to contend with on the prelims. Moura picked up a first-round submission on Dana White’s Contender Series in August to win her way into the UFC. The strawweight has eight of her nine wins by stoppage – including seven in the first round.

Kaue Fernandes (8-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC), a Brazilian who trains at the acclaimed Nova Uniao in Rio de Janeiro, is set for his UFC debut in a lightweight curtain jerker against Marc Diakiese (16-7 MMA, 7-7 UFC). After a decision loss in his LFA debut in 2021, Fernandes had back-to-back first-round knockouts for LFA to get on the UFC’s radar.