Matches To Make After UFC Sao Paulo

UFC Sao Paul went down last night (Sat., Nov. 4, 2023) inside Ibirapuera Gymnasium in Sao Paulo, Brazil, airing exclusively on ESPN+. The event featured a Heavyweight fight that saw Jailton Almeida earn a one-sided unanimous decision win over Derrick Lewis (recap here). In the co-main event, Nicolas Dalby earned a come-from-behind technical knockout (TKO) win over Gabriel Bonfim (highlights).

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Winner: Jailton Almeida

Who He Should Face Next: Curtis Blaydes

Almeida has been calling for a fight against former interim Heavyweight champion, Ciryl Gane, but the fight to make is against Blaydes. The two men were initially set to collide at UFC Sao Paulo before “Razor” was inexplicably yanked from the card. I still think it’s the fight to make, and it would be interesting to see just what kind of strategy Almeida would implement. That’s because he was quick to take Lewis down to the ground and dominate to avoid his bombs, but Blaydes has been known to control bouts with his grappling, as well, so it may not work out as well as he thinks.

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Winner: Nicolas Dalby

Who He Should Fight Next: Joaquin Buckley

Dalby has now won four straight fights, and he is enjoying his Sunday morning a bit more knowing that he has an extra $50K hitting his bank account following his spectacular TKO win over Gabriel Bonfim. I am feeling a matchup against Buckley next for “Danish Dynamite.” Buckley was last seen defeating Alex Morono via unanimous decision earlier this month, his second straight win. Both men love to stand-and-bang, so another post-fight bonus award could be headed their way if this fight is made.

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Winner: Rodrigo Nascimento

Who He Should Face Next: Alexandr Romanov

Nascimento won his third straight fight by defeating Don’Tale Mayes via unanimous decision, bringing his young UFC record to an impressive 4-1-1. It’s going to take perhaps another win or two to get Nascimento in the conversation for a spot in the Top 15, but if he can get a win over the No. 13 ranked Heavyweight in the division in the form of Alexandr Romanov, it will definitely help his cause. Romanov is coming off a unanimous decision win over Blagoy Ivanov, which snapped his two fight losing streak.

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Winner: Caio Borralho

Who He Should Face Next: Anthony Hernandez

Borralho picked up his fifth straight win inside the Octagon — twelfth overall — and a Top 15 spot may not be too far off after earning a clean sweep on the judge’s scorecards in his fight against Abus Magomedov. The fiery Middleweight wants a fight against Dricus du Plessis, but that simply isn’t in the cards at the moment because Borallho isn’t even in the Top 15, while “DDP” has his sights set on a title fight, though you can’t blame Borralho for shooting his shot. Speaking of rankings, if he wants to get a spot, why not try to take out the No. 15 ranked fighter in the division in Hernandez? He is currently on a four-fight win streak and is coming off a technical knockout (TKO) win over Edmen Shahbazyan.

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Winner: Elves Brener

Who He Should Face Next: Trevor Peek

Brener kicked off the main card in epic fashion by knocking out UFC newcomer, Kaynan Kruschewsky, in the very first round (see it here). Brener has now won five in a row, which includes going 3-0 in his young UFC career. As far his potential next opponent, Peek is 2-1 so far in his own UFC career, and is coming off a big win over Mohammad Yahya last month. The Contender Series alum is 9-1 overall and a fight against Brener would be a good matchup between two rising 155-pounder contenders.

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For complete UFC Sao Paulo results, coverage, and highlights click HERE.