Jailton Almeida’s rise through the heavyweight division took another step forward on Saturday when he dominated perennial contender Derrick Lewis in the UFC Fight Night 231 headliner.
Almeida (20-2 MMA, 6-0 UFC) added to his perfect octagon start with a one-sided unanimous decision victory over former two-time title challenger Lewis (27-12 MMA, 18-10 UFC) in the headlining bout, which took place at Ginasio Do Ibirapuera in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Check below for the top X (formerly Twitter) reactions to Almeida’s victory over Lewis at UFC Fight Night 231.
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UFC
Heavyweight bash, coming up next! 🙌@Malhadinho_UFC vs @TheBeast_UFC
We're LIVE now on ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/Ae4iVGxCY4
— UFC (@ufc) November 5, 2023
UFC
ENTER THE KNOCKOUT KING! 🤬👑
He makes his 28th appearance in the UFC tonight! @TheBeast_UFC | #UFCSP pic.twitter.com/kdyCdjp1kq
— UFC Canada (@UFC_CA) November 5, 2023
UFC
Listo para una estelar en casa @Malhadinho_UFC 🇧🇷 #UFCSP pic.twitter.com/Pvnls6f3f1
— UFC Español (@UFCEspanol) November 5, 2023
UFC
LET'S DO THIS #UFCSP pic.twitter.com/qCfuB6tQFR
— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) November 5, 2023
BJ Penn
Those are some big boys 😅
— bjpenndotcom (@bjpenndotcom) November 5, 2023
Alan Jouban
Almeida has shown a Khamzat like ability so far in his UFC career. Style and dual weight classes. #UFCSaoPaulo
— Alan Jouban (@AlanJouban) November 5, 2023
Bloody Elbow
Derrick Lewis taken down early in round 1. That's a bad sign for the Black Beast. #UFCSaoPaulo
— Bloody Elbow (@BloodyElbow) November 5, 2023
Nolan King
Lewis just powered out of Almeida's mount and then was pretty immediately mounted again #UFCSP
— Nolan King (@mma_kings) November 5, 2023
Aaron Bronsteter
Jailton running out of ideas
— Aaron Bronsteter (@aaronbronsteter) November 5, 2023
Ariel Helwani
Damn.
Jailton Almeida steamrolls Derrick Lewis. Mounts him for like 4.5 minutes. Sub attempts et al.
And Lewis survives the round.
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) November 5, 2023
Jalin Turner
Bro is just stopping his punches by grabbing his wrists 😂 he gotta be super strong
— Jalin Turner (@JalinTurner) November 5, 2023
E. Casey Leydon
This is most Derrick Lewis fight ever.
— E. Casey Leydon (@ekc) November 5, 2023
Bloody Elbow
Lewis down again early in round 2. #UFCSaoPaulo
— Bloody Elbow (@BloodyElbow) November 5, 2023
Jalin Turner
Not the 30 on Derek gloves falling off 😭
— Jalin Turner (@JalinTurner) November 5, 2023
Derek Brunson
These are the type of fights Derrick Lewis wins ? Lose 24 minutes and 53 seconds , KOs opp with 7 seconds left 😂😂😂 #UFCbrazil
— Derek Brunson (@DerekBrunson) November 5, 2023
Aaron Bronsteter
Derrick Lewis officially landed 6 significant strikes in the first round against Jailton Almeida, which is 3 times more than Almeida's five previous UFC opponents combined.
— Aaron Bronsteter (@aaronbronsteter) November 5, 2023
Lauren Murphy
This would be sweet if it was IBJJF
— Lauren Murphy (@LaurenMurphyMMA) November 5, 2023
Jamahal Hill
Bro got the UF from his glove stuck to head lol
— Jamahal Hill (@JamahalH) November 5, 2023
Jalin Turner
Ok here comes a come from behind ko by Lewis 😭👏🏾
— Jalin Turner (@JalinTurner) November 5, 2023
Kevin Iole
I think that’s another 10-8 for Almeida. Derrick is pinned nearly the entire round, and Almeida has had a few legit sub attempts. #UFCSaoPaulo
— Kevin Iole (@KevinI) November 5, 2023
Caposa
Someone please send this to Derrick’s corner https://t.co/5UePDuFF5F
— caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) November 5, 2023
Jed Meshew
Jailton gotta learn how to fight and not just submission grapple. If he was punching Lewis this would’ve been over 8 minutes ago. Instead he’s letting Lewis linger.
— Jed Meshew II (@JedKMeshew) November 5, 2023
Anton Tabuena
Ref seriously warning him about a restart from mount? Smh.
— Anton Tabuena (@antontabuena) November 5, 2023
Alexander K Lee
Almeida’s wrestling is really a joy to watch #UFCSP
— Alexander K Lee (@AlexanderKLee) November 5, 2023
Derek Brunson
Heavyweights get away with murder . I mean damn 😂😂😂
— Derek Brunson (@DerekBrunson) November 5, 2023
Ben Askren
Has no one ever taught Almeida how to ground and pound??
— Funky (@Benaskren) November 5, 2023
MMA Mania
Jailton Almeida gassed??#UFCSP
— MMA Mania (@mmamania) November 5, 2023
Terrance McKinney
Does Almeida not have hands or he knows his best plan is to just smother Lewis for 25 minutes?
— Terrance McKinney (@twrecks155) November 5, 2023
Islam Makhachev
When you never training grappling 🤦♂️
— Makhachev Islam (@MAKHACHEVMMA) November 5, 2023
Kevin Iole
Almeida once again has huge control time. He survived a scare when Lewis got up and was throwing. I have it 30-24 for Almeida at this stage. #UFCSaoPaulo
— Kevin Iole (@KevinI) November 5, 2023
Chad Dundas
Derrick Lewis Submission Defense Instructional VHS Cassette Tape
— Chad Dundas (@chaddundas) November 5, 2023
Laura Sanko
Did NOT expect this to go to the 4th or 5th rounds…but here we are. #UFCSP
— Laura Sanko (@laura_sanko) November 5, 2023
Fight Ghost
Jailton -1000 entering the final round #UFCSP
— Fight Ghost (@Fight_Ghost) November 5, 2023
Scott Fontana
R4 10-9 Almeida, going up 40-36. Still very patient, picking his spots to land ground strikes and attack subs but ultimately executing the vast majority of effective offense between the two. #UFCSP
— Scott Fontana (@Scott_Fontana) November 5, 2023
Chael Sonnen
That’s GREAT corner work by team Lewis. Passionate and direct.
— Chael Sonnen (@ChaelSonnen) November 5, 2023
Caposa
My god Aldo like takedown defense from Lewis in R5
— caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) November 5, 2023
Islam Makhachev
give him a pillow 🤦♂️
— Makhachev Islam (@MAKHACHEVMMA) November 5, 2023
Tatiana Suarez
Please don’t try to wrestle with him Lewis. And he tried and now he is mounted…. Again. I’m in shock 😂 #UFCSaoPaulo
— Tatiana Suarez (@tatianaufc) November 5, 2023
Conner Burks
brazil, you have your khabib #UFCSaoPaulo pic.twitter.com/jwQ4WKkkyk
— Conner Burks (@connerburks) November 5, 2023
Terrance McKinney
At least we had the Darby fight tonight to give us some action
— Terrance McKinney (@twrecks155) November 5, 2023
Alan Jouban
That was not it. #UFCSaoPaulo
— Alan Jouban (@AlanJouban) November 5, 2023
Kenny Florian
Almeida/Lewis is NOT going the dis…
— Kenny Florian (@kennyflorian) November 5, 2023
Matthew Wells
50-44 Almeida @MMADecisions #UFCSP
Could be more than one 10-8 in there, and that's fine. It's clear who won this, though.
— Matthew Wells (@MrMWells) November 5, 2023
MMA Junkie
#UFCSP results: Jailton Almeida (@Malhadinho_UFC) def. Derrick Lewis via unanimous decision (50-44, 50-44, 50-45)
Full coverage: https://t.co/yMOvoZBehu pic.twitter.com/tKhWkFbT9u
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) November 5, 2023
UFC
Dominante por cinco rounds👏 @Malhadinho_UFC el ganador de la estelar por decisión unánime #UFCSP pic.twitter.com/qp0jM4lTxF
— UFC Español (@UFCEspanol) November 5, 2023
Nolan King
Jailton Almeida calls out Ciryl Gane at #UFCSP
— Nolan King (@mma_kings) November 5, 2023
Derek Brunson
I actually enjoyed the Jailton Almeida v Derrick Lewis fight . If someone runs the ball in the NFL to slow down a high powered passing offense , everyone cheers . If you’re smart in mma , everyone is disappointed . I was on the edge of my seat all night seeing if Lewis could last…
— Derek Brunson (@DerekBrunson) November 5, 2023
Corey Anderson
I think if @RazorBlaydes265 made it to this fight, Almeida would've probably took his first loss tonight. There's no way he takes Blaydes down like that… I'd have to see it to believe it. #UFCSaoPaulo
— Corey 'Overtime' Anderson (@CoreyA_MMA) November 5, 2023
ESPN MMA
Jailton Almeida wants Ciryl Gane next 👀 #UFCSP pic.twitter.com/99wpQkKd3B
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) November 5, 2023
Marc Raimondi
Jailton Almeida had the most control time in a fight in UFC history (21:10) against Derrick Lewis, according to @ESPNStatsInfo. The previous best: Curtis Blaydes against Alexander Volkov (19:50) in 2020. #UFCSaoPaulo
— Marc Raimondi (@marcraimondi) November 5, 2023
