''UFC Fight Night: Almeida vs. Lewis'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 231'' and ''UFC on ESPN+ 89'') was a

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, inc ...

event produced by the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

that took place on November 4, 2023, at

Ginásio do Ibirapuera Ginásio do Ibirapuera (officially named Ginásio Estadual Geraldo José de Almeida)
is an São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for ' Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the Ga ...

, Brazil.

Background

The event marked the promotion's ninth visit to São Paulo and first since UFC Fight Night: Błachowicz vs. Jacaré in November 2019. The event was expected to be headlined by a heavyweight bout between

Curtis Blaydes Curtis Lionell Blaydes (born February 18, 1991) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Heavyweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional since 2014, Blaydes formerly competed ...

and Jailton Almeida. However, Blaydes withdrew for unknown reasons and was replaced by former

UFC Heavyweight Championship Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships. Historical notes At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight classe ...

challenger

Derrick Lewis Derrick James Lewis (born February 7, 1985) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Heavyweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he currently holds the record for most knockouts ...

. A women's strawweight bout between Eduarda Moura and Kim So-yul was scheduled for the event. However, Kim was removed from the event for undisclosed reasons and replaced by

Montserrat Ruiz Avelina Montserrat Conejo Ruiz (born February 3, 1993) is a Mexican female mixed martial artist who competes in the Strawweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background At the age of 16, Ruiz started practicing Olympic wrestlin ...

. At the weigh-ins, Moura weighed in at 119.5 pounds, three and a half pounds over the strawweight non-title fight limit. The bout proceeded at catchweight and she was fined 30% of her purse which went to Ruiz. A middleweight bout between Caio Borralho and Nursulton Ruziboev was expected to take place at the event. However, Ruziboev withdrew for unknown reasons and was replaced by Abus Magomedov. A bantamweight bout between Daniel Santos and Daniel Marcos was expected to take place at the event. However, Santos pulled out due to undisclosed reasons and was replaced by promotional newcomer Victor Hugo. However, the bout was scrapped after Hugo weighed in at 138.5 pounds, two and a half pounds over the bantamweight non-title fight limit. A featherweight bout between Lucas Alexander and David Onama was scheduled to take place in the preliminary card. However, the bout was cancelled after Onama suffered an injury. At the weigh-ins, Ismael Bonfim weighed in at 159.5 pounds, three and a half pounds over the lightweight non-title fight limit. As a result, his scheduled bout with

Vinc Pichel Vincent Alan Pichel (born November 23, 1982) is an American professional mixed martial artist currently competing in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional competitor since 2009, Pichel was also a contestan ...

was scrapped. A middleweight bout between

Rodolfo Vieira Rodolfo Vieira Srour (born September 25, 1989 in Rio de Janeiro) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist currently signed with the Ultimate Fighting Championship, where he competes in the middleweight division. Vieir ...

and Armen Petrosyan was scheduled to take place on the main card, but it was scrapped after Petrosyan became ill backstage during the event.

Results

Bonus awards

The following fighters received $50,000 bonuses. *Fight of the Night: Nicolas Dalby vs. Gabriel Bonfim *Performance of the Night: Elves Brener and Vitor Petrino

References

{{2023 in mixed martial arts UFC Fight Night 2023 in mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts in Brazil 2023 in Brazilian sport Sports competitions in São Paulo November 2023 sports events in Brazil 21st century in São Paulo

Background

Results

Bonus awards

See also

References