In the UFC Sao Paulo main event, Jailton Almeida controlled Derrick Lewis for about twenty-five minutes, but after five exhausting rounds, he had to settle for a majority decision victory.
Almeida didn’t hide his strategy from the beginning of the fight till the very end, constantly shooting inside for the takedown and then attempting to enhance his position on the ground. Almeida chose to take control time rather than deal maximum damage, but even with that decision, she was still able to win the battle by a wide margin because she spent the bulk of the fight either in the mount or in side control.
The judges scored the bout 50-44, 50-44, and 50-45 at the conclusion, keeping Almeida unbeaten in his UFC career.
Jailton Almeida dominates Derrick Lewis
Almeida wasted little time in pressing forward early in the opening round and then diving for the legs to secure the takedown, knowing that Lewis would be aiming for the knockout. Lewis resisted Almeida’s attempt to apply an arm triangle choke by clumsily wriggling to eventually escape the hold.
Lewis occasionally succeeded in popping off the bottom, thus Almeida had to approach “The Black Beast” cautiously in an attempt to bring the battle back to the ground. Lewis made every effort to explode anytime he got a moment to catch his breath, but Almeida always managed to knock him back to the ground.
Almeida stayed on top of Lewis to make sure he didn’t lose the position after the second round ended rather than actually forcing his way into submission attempts. Almeida would frequently maintain total control, so even referee Marc Goddard cautioned him to be occupied and didn’t throw many blows when Lewis was trapped beneath him.
Almeida didn’t start landing some harder blows until the end of the bout, but that’s also when Lewis stood up for the last time to attempt a comeback. But Lewis’s triumph was fleeting, as Almeida would eventually bring him down once again before the last horn blew.
With the victory, Almeida advances to 6-0 in the UFC and makes history by facing a decision for the first time in his career. After an exhausting effort against Lewis on Saturday, Jailton Almeida already had a fighter in mind for his next bout after winning.
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