Derrick Lewis replaces injured Curtis Blaydes, will face Jailton Almeida in main event on Nov. 4
After Curtis Blaydes had to withdraw due to injury, former UFC heavyweight title contender Derrick Lewis will step up to fill-in and face Jailton Almeida in the main event of UFC Sao Paulo on November 4. Ag. Fight was first to report the news of Blaydes’ injury and Lewis stepping in to replace him.
On Tuesday, ESPN’s Brett Okamoto reported that Blaydes had suffered an ankle injury and as he tried to push through it, he suffered an injury to his other ankle which will now keep him sidelined with no training for four-to-six weeks.
Curtis Blaydes suffered an injury to his ankle, and then injured his other ankle as well when he tried to push through it, per his manager Lloyd Pierson. He's expected to be out of physical activity for 4-6 weeks.
— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) October 10, 2023
Although he won’t be facing the fifth-ranked Blaydes, Jailton Almeida still has a high-stakes matchup with Derrick Lewis who has the most knockouts in UFC history and his known for his dangerous power. The always-entertaining Lewis snapped a three-fight skid in his last fight when he picked up a first-round knockout victory over Marcos Rogerio de Lima, landing himself at 10th in the division’s rankings.
Jailton Almeida is one of the most entertaining, dangerous, and rising prospects in the entire UFC promotion, having competed at both light heavyweight and heavyweight, as well as a catchweight bought as well since entering the UFC following a win in Contender Series in 2021. He’s had several fights fall out during his tenure with the promotion but has not suffered a defeat despite bouncing between divisions.
A win for Almeida over Derrick Lewis would solidify himself at the top of the heavyweight division which could be wide open following the title fight between Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic in November.
Here is the Sao Paulo Fight Night card:
- Derrick Lewis vs Jailton Almeida
- Gabriel Bonfim vs Nicolas Dalby
- Rodrigo Nascimento vs Don’Tale Mayes
- Rodolfo Vieira vs Armen Petrosyan
- Ismael Bonfim vs Vinc Pichel
- Caio Borralho vs Abus Magomedov
- Vitor Petrino vs Modestas Bukauskas
- Elves Brener vs Esteban Ribovics
- Elizeu Zaleski vs Rinat Fakhretdinov
- Angela Hill vs Denise Gomes
- Montserrat Conejo Ruiz vs Eduarda Moura
- Lucas Alexander vs David Onama
- Kaue Fernandes vs Marc Diakiese
- Daniel Marcos vs Victor Hugo
