Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best fights from November 2023.
With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best fights from November 2023: Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMA Junkie’s Fight of the Month award for November.
At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting on your choice.
With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best knockouts from November 2023.
With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best knockouts from November 2023: Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMA Junkie’s Knockout of the Month award for November.
At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting for your choice.
Check out the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings following UFC Fight Night 231 in Brazil.
The UFC may have a new contender in its heavyweight division.
At UFC Fight Night 231, Jailton Almeida defeated former title challenger Derrick Lewis in the headliner Ginasio Do Ibirapuera in Sao Paulo, Brazil. It was a dominant performance in which Almeida clocked a ton of control time on the mat, as Lewis struggled to keep the fight standing. After 25 minutes, it was a clear unanimous decision win for Almeida, and one of the biggest of his UFC run thus far.
Entering the week at No. 15, Almeida climbs three spots to No. 12, replacing Lewis, who drops one spot in this week’s USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie heavyweight rankings.
Check out all the latest pound-for-pound and divisional USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings above.
UFC Fight Night 231 winners and losers react on social media outlets such as X, Instagram and Facebook.
Since the early days when the sport was anything but a mainstream endeavor, the MMA industry has thrived and survived through various websites, forums, and – perhaps most importantly – social-media platforms.
Fighters interact with fans, each other and many more through the likes of X, Facebook and Instagram, which helps outsiders get a deeper look into the minds of the athletes.
Following Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 231 in São Paulo, Brazil, several of the winning and losing fighters, along with their coaches, training partners or family members, took to social media to react to the event or share a message with supporters.
Check out some of those reactions.
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Our “Spinning Back Clique” crew discusses the continued fallout from Francis Ngannou vs. Tyson Fury, the reshuffled UFC 295 and more.
Our “Spinning Back Clique” panel discusses the continued fallout from Francis Ngannou vs. Tyson Fury, the reshuffled UFC 295 and more.
Check out this week’s “Spinning Back Clique,” MMA Junkie’s weekly live show that takes a spin through the biggest topics in mixed martial arts.
This week’s panel of Brian “Goze” Garcia, Danny Segura and Dan Tom will join host “Gorgeous” George Garcia live at noon ET (9 a.m. PT) to discuss and debate:
Analysis of the biggest storylines coming out of UFC Fight Night 231, including positive words for Jailton Almeida and Derrick Lewis.
What mattered most at UFC Fight Night 231 at Ginasio Do Ibirapuera in Sao Paulo? Here are a few post-fight musings …
Derrick Lewis now is 1-4 in his past five fights after a lopsided defeat to Jailton Almeida at UFC Fight Night 231 inn Sao Paulo.
(ALSO SEE: Mick Maynard’s Shoes: What’s next for Jailton Almeida after UFC Fight Night 231 win?)
Derrick Lewis once again struggled against high-level grappling on Saturday when he succumbed to a lopsided defeat against Jailton Almeida at UFC Fight Night 231.
Lewis (27-12 MMA, 18-10 UFC) had no answers to the superior top control of Almeida (20-2 MMA, 6-0 UFC) over the course of five rounds. He survived until the final bell, but lost a unanimous decision in the main event at Ginasio Do Ibirapuera in Sao Paulo.
With the defeat, Lewis now is 1-4 in his past five fights. What’s next for the 38-year-old? Watch the video above for thoughts and analysis on his future after UFC Fight Night 231.
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 231.
Jailton Almeida dominated Derrick Lewis at UFC Fight Night 231 but his momentum was seemingly slowed by the performance.
(ALSO SEE: Mick Maynard’s Shoes: What’s next for Derrick Lewis after UFC Fight Night 231 loss?)
[autotag]Jailton Almeida[/autotag] remained undefeated in the octagon at UFC Fight Night 231 when he dominated perennial contender Derrick Lewis in the main event.
Almeida (20-2 MMA, 6-0 UFC) failed to finish an opponent for the first time in his career, but he still overwhelmed Lewis (27-12 MMA, 18-10 UFC) with his grappling over the course of five rounds to win a unanimous decision at Ginasio Do Ibirapuera in Sao Paulo.
Although the performance didn’t come with the most positive reviews, Almeida still appears poised for heavyweight title contention and another big name next.
The Brazilian called out Ciryl Gane after the win, but is that the fight to make? Watch the video above for thoughts and analysis on Almeida’s future after UFC Fight Night 231.
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 231.
Jailton Almeida continued to run over the UFC’s heavyweight division, albeit in a different manner than fans have become accustomed to.
[autotag]Jailton Almeida[/autotag] continued to run over the top of the UFC’s heavyweight division Saturday, albeit in a different manner than fans have become accustomed to.
Almeida (20-2 MMA, 6-0 UFC) used a takedown-heavy game plan that led to a UFC heavyweight record for ground control time at more than 21 minutes in a five-round domination of two-time title challenger Derrick Lewis (27-12 MMA, 18-10 UFC) in the UFC fight Night 231 main event in Sao Paulo. The Brazilian moved to 6-0 in the UFC, and did so in front of his home fans.
Going into the fight, the 32-year-old had been to a decision just one time – which happened to be his most recent loss nearly six years ago, more than four years before he arrived in the UFC after a win on Dana White’s Contender Series. While there were moments when Almeida and Lewis swung for the fences, it clearly wasn’t in Almeida’s plans to get into a slugfest with Lewis.
The result was a sweep of the scorecards and the aforementioned new UFC record, but Almeida’s streak of finishes (14) and post-fight bonuses (three) came to an end. Almeida had to change his focus from Curtis Blaydes to Lewis on about three weeks’ notice when Blaydes pulled out. That led to the wrestle-centric attack.
“Remember that (Friday) I said he wanted a brawl, and I said it was going to be a show? Did I give you guys a show, or what?” Almeida said through a translator in his in-cage interview after the win. “We knew he had a heavy hand, and we had 15 or 20 days to come up with a strategy for this fight. We were able to do that and keep him down and avoid his right hand. I was touched, and I didn’t really feel it.”
The heavyweight title picture in the UFC is a bit of a mess, which historically might be par for the course for the division. But champion Jon Jones, who was supposed to headline UFC 295 on Saturday against ex-champ Stipe Miocic, is out for at least eight months with an injury. Miocic wasn’t offered an interim title shot, and he’ll wait for a fight with Jones.
At UFC 295, instead, an interim heavyweight belt will go to the winner between Sergei Pavlovich and Tom Aspinall, and that big man then apparently will wait for the Jones-Miocic winner.
All the commotion up top means other contenders like Almeida have to just keep fighting while the clock ticks for the fighters around the belts. So Almeida called out former interim champ [autotag]Ciryl Gane[/autotag] (12-2 MMAA, 9-2 UFC).
“I want Ciryl Gane,” Almeida said of the Frenchman. “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.”
Gane fought Jones for the vacant heavyweight title in March and was submitted in the first round. But he bounced back two months ago with a bonus-winning TKO of Serghei Spivac in the UFC Paris headliner in front of his home fans. After a 10-0 start to his career, he has alternated losses and wins his past four fights. Both setbacks, to Jones and Francis Ngannou, came in title bouts.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 231.
Check out all the facts from UFC Sao, which saw Jailton Almeida log a record amount of ground control time over Derrick Lewis in the main event.
The UFC’s return to Sao Paulo after more than four years proved to be a forgettable one on Saturday, with UFC Fight Night 231 seeing six of 10 bouts go the distance with three canceled fights in the 48 hours leading up.
One of the fights go to the scorecards was the main event, [autotag]Jailton Almeida[/autotag] (20-2 MMA, 6-0 UFC) earned a lopsided but somewhat underwhelming unanimous decision over [autotag]Derrick Lewis[/autotag] (27-12 MMA, 18-10 UFC) to remain undefeated in heavyweight competition.
For more on the numbers behind the headliner, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from UFC Fight Night 231.
