UFC Sao Paulo: Blaydes Out, Derrick Lewis to Face Jailton Almeida
UFC Sao Paulo 2023 has a new main event as Curtis Blaydes has suffered an injury and will be replaced by Derrick Lewis.
Blaydes was set to take in Jailton Almeida, but AgFight has now reported that he had to pull out due to an injury. The report says UFC’s top brass acted quickly to replace Blaydes.
Derrick Lewis will now face Jailton Almeida in the heavyweight main event on November 4 Fight Night event. The contract for the fight is reportedly signed by both parties already.
Blaydes se lesiona e UFC escala Derrick Lewis para enfrentar Malhadinho em São Paulo https://t.co/JkX0Il86Pr
— Ag. Fight (@AgFight) October 9, 2023
Lewis is currently ranked at #10 in UFC heavyweight rankings while Almeida is one spot above him at #9. Blaydes is at #5 in the same rankings.
Derrick Lewis is coming off a win at UFC 291 where he defeated Marcos Rogeria De Lima via knockout in 33 seconds of the first round. This win ended Lewis’ 3-fights losing streak which came against top-ranked contenders like Sergey Spivac, Tai Tuivasa and Serghei Pavlovich.
Jailton Almeida is unbeaten in UFC in 5 bouts so far, beating the likes of Parker Porter, Shamil Abdurakhimov and Jairzinho Rozenstruik in the process. He was signed by UFC with a win over Nasrudin Nasrudinov in Dana White Contender Series 2021 season.
UFC Sao Paulo is set to air from Ibirapuera Gymnasium in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on November 4, 2023.
