4 Fights We Need to See After UFC Fight Night 231
Jailton Almeida is one of the best heavyweights in the world.
The Brazilian affirmed that in the main event of Saturday's UFC Fight Night 231 card in Sao Paulo, where he dominated former title challenger Derrick Lewis on his way to a unanimous-decision win. He had initially been set to fight Curtis Blaydes but accepted a fight with Lewis when his original foe suffered an injury in training. The changeup clearly didn't trouble him whatsoever.
The big question now is who he will fight next.
The same goes for the other big winners from the event, including Danish welterweight Nicolas Dalby, who scored a knockout win over Gabriel Bonfim in the penultimate bout of the night, and Brazil's Caio Borralho, who picked up his fifth straight UFC win with a decision defeat of Abus Magomedov. Both likely set themselves up for big opportunities in their next fights.
It remains to be seen how the UFC matchmakers will move after this card, but keep scrolling for four fights we're hoping to see when the dust has settled.
Jailton Almeida vs. Ciryl Gane
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Derrick Lewis is a former title challenger, a longtime top-15 heavyweight, and the owner of the record for most knockout wins in UFC history.
Jailton Almeida made him look like a novice, completing six takedowns to rack up almost 22 minutes of control time in their 25-minute fight. His resulting unanimous-decision win brought him to 20-2 overall and 6-0 in the UFC, and it should set him up for a fight with one of the division's top contenders.
If Almeida has his way, it will be a fight with French striking specialist Ciryl Gane next.
"I want Ciryl Gane," Almeida said at the card's post-fight press conference. "We can do it in Paris. We can do it in Salvador. We can do it wherever. I'm ready. Let's do it, Ciryl Gane."
We're all for this fight. Gane is one of the few heavyweights ranked above Almeida who is unbooked, and he is also riding a nice win, having punched Serghei Spivac to a second-round TKO loss in Paris in September. He also happens to be the heavyweight division's No. 1-ranked contender, so if Almeida wins this one—which is very possible given Gane's weakness to grappling—he will be right in position to fight for the title.
Derrick Lewis vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik
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The UFC's knockout king has fallen on hard times.
With his loss to Jailton Almeida in Sao Paulo, Derrick Lewis has lost five of his past seven, and all of those losses were totally one-sided. Given that he's 38, it's not surprising to see him slowing down, but he's going to need to start getting better results if he hopes to maintain his position inside the heavyweight top 15. He's already tumbled down to No. 10 and will probably drop a few more spots when the rankings are updated this week.
Our pick for his next opponent is Jairzinho Rozenstruik. Like Lewis, Suriname's Rozenstruik was once near the top of the heavyweight food chain, but he's also fallen on hard times, with five losses in his past eight fights.
Given how long he and Lewis have been in the top 15 together, it's surprising they haven't met in the Octagon yet. Now seems like the perfect time. It makes sense from a rankings standpoint, and the likelihood of a knockout—one way or the other—seems high.
Nicolas Dalby vs. Santiago Ponzinibbio
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Nicolas Dalby may never be the UFC welterweight champion, but the Dane has had a pretty great career so far. In Sao Paulo, he knocked out Gabriel Bonfim to improve his record to 23-4-1 overall and move onto a four-fight streak. That's the recipe for a step up in competition in our book.
Our pick for his next opponent is Argentina's Santiago Ponzinibbio.
Ponzinibbio once had the look of a serious contender in the division, but the 37-year-old has lost four of his past six. At this point, it's clear that the best days of his career are over, but as he proved in his 2022 knockout win over Alex Morono, he still has the chops to beat a lot of his fellow welterweights. He seems like a great test for Dalby for this point, and it looks like a great fight on paper.
If the Dane pulls it off, it might be time to start talking about giving him a ranked opponent.
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Caio Borralho vs. Ikram Aliskerov
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Caio Borralho is one of the fastest rising contenders in the UFC middleweight division.
At UFC Fight Night 231, he picked up his 15th straight win, defeating Abus Magomedov by unanimous decision. It's worth noting that Magomedov accepted the fight on short notice, stepping in to replace the injured Nursulton Ruziboev, but the German is the guy Sean Strickland beat to earn his title-winning fight with Israel Adesanya, so he is clearly a fighter the UFC takes seriously.
After Borralho beat him in Sao Paulo, it's time to give the Brazilian another step up in competition.
Our pick is Russia's Ikram Aliskerov.
Aliskerov was set for his first fight with a ranked opponent at last month's UFC 294 card, having been booked to meet No. 12 middleweight Nassourdine Imavov. When Imavov withdrew from the fight, the Russian accepted a short-notice fight with Warlley Alves, who he knocked out in emphatic fashion. He's still deserving of a ranked foe, but with many fighters in the back end of the middleweight top-15 occupied with other challenges, a fight with another streaking prospect like Borralho makes sense.
Book it for an early 2024 fight night, and give the winner someone in the top 15.
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