UFC heavyweight Derrick Lewis fought in his first fight since re-signing with the UFC. He took on Brazil’s own Jailton Almeida at UFC Sao Paulo. Having won his last fight, Lewis was looking to secure another victory. However, that did not happen and combat fans and fighters took to the internet to express their opinions on Lewis’s underwhelming show.

Derrick Lewis was on the verge of leaving the UFC after three consecutive losses. However, he turned that around with an impressive knockout win over Marcos Rogerio de Lima. He was hoping to carry that momentum to Sao Paulo. However, Lewis was in for a tough fight as Jailton Almeida put on a dominant performance.

Jailton Almeida dominated Derrick Lewis with his grappling skills

The heavyweight clash between Derrick Lewis and Jailton Almeida saw both fighters trying to trade strikes. Suddenly, the Brazilian took down ‘The Black Beast’, who’s a much heavier fighter. Almeida straight away got Lewis into an arm-triangle position. However. the 10th-ranked heavyweight was able to get out of that predicament. But ‘Malhadinho’ had Lewis’s back and was in full control of the fight in the opening round.

Jailton Almeida continued to put pressure on his opponent with his grappling skills and even hit Derrick Lewis with some ground-and-pound. However, ‘The Black Beast’ was able to get out of that predicament as the round came to an end. The second round saw Lewis going for a hard right, but Almedia again, successfully attempted a takedown. He got on Lewis’s back once again in hopes of setting him up for a submission. But ‘The Black Beast’ wasn’t ready to give up easily.

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Derrick Lewis started the third round with some explosive strikes. He threw a rising knee strike and barely missed Jailton Almedia. However, the Brazilian got into a dominant position once again. This became a recurring theme of the fight. Almedia almost finished Lewis with some hard strikes as the round came to a close. He continued to dominate in the fourth round with yet another takedown and some ground-and-pound.

The fight ultimately went to the fifth round. Derrick Lewis had only one option left in the final round and that was to knock Jailton Almeida out. He showed some great takedown defense. However, Almeida scored another takedown and had the fight under his control. In the end, the judges ruled the fight in favor of ‘Malhadinho’ with a unanimous decision. Meanwhile, Lewis’s lackluster performance prompted a response from Islam Makhachev. Let’s see what he had to say.

Islam Makhachev calls out ‘The Black Beast’ for his lackluster showing at UFC Sao Paulo

The UFC lightweight champion was not impressed with Derrick Lewis’s lack of grappling skills. He took to Twitter (X) and mentioned that such performances will always be a recurring theme if fighters don’t take time to train and develop their wrestling skills. Islam Makhachev said, “When you never training grappling.”

Furthermore, for most of the time, Derrick Lewis appeared to be floored and resting on the mat against Jailton Almeida. He was not letting the Brazilian get into a position to submit him.

However, Islam Makhachev wasn’t a fan of that tactic. He took a jibe at Lewis on that instance as well. “give him a pillow.” said Makhachev. The lightweight champion always claims that wrestling is an integral part of MMA, and was clearly not impressed by Lewis’s lack of wrestling skills.

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Derrick Lewis registered his 12th MMA loss. It remains to be seen what the UFC plans for him in the future. He looked strong in his UFC 291 fight. However, his performance against Jailton Almeida may have diminished his chances of getting into title contention. We will have to wait and see how things pan out in the months to come.

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