Tag: UFC Fight Night 231

UFC free fight: Jailton Almeida puts on grappling clinic against Shamil Abdurakhimov

Watch Jailton Almeida’s impressive TKO win against Shamil Abdurakhimov.

[autotag]Jailton Almeida[/autotag]’s grappling is proving to be a nightmare for the UFC heavyweight division.

Back in January at UFC 283 in Rio de Janeiro, Almeida dominated Shamil Abdurakhimov in ways that no one has done before. Almeida took down and completely controlled Abdurakhimov, showcasing his high-level grappling. Almeida eventually back-mounted Abdurakhimov and battered him with ground-and-pound until he got the TKO win.

You can watch Abdurakhimov’s dominant showing in the video above.

Almeida (19-2 MMA, 5-0 UFC) returns to the cage this Saturday in the main event of UFC Fight Night 231 at Ginasio Do Ibirapuera in Sao Paulo. He takes on former UFC title challenger Derrick Lewis (27-11 MMA, 18-9 UFC).

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 231.

Montserrat Conejo promises to show full potential at UFC Fight Night 231

Montserrat Conejo doesn’t think UFC fans have seen what she’s truly capable of in the octagon and plans to change that Saturday.

[autotag]Montserrat Conejo[/autotag] doesn’t think UFC fans have seen what she’s truly capable of in the octagon.

Things haven’t really worked out for the Mexican fighter after making a successful UFC debut in 2021. She made her first official appearance with a unanimous decision win over Cheyanne Vlismas but was then stopped by TKO in subsequent bouts against Amanda Lemos and Jaqueline Amorim.

“Yeah, unfortunately I’m coming off two losses, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to move forward and win,” Conejo told MMA Junkie in Spanish. “My objective is to go out there and win and do the best way I can possibly do.

“I’m working extremely hard. Both mentally and physically I feel much better, and that’s what’s important. I’m going with a little chip on my shoulder that I’ve been carrying after these two defeats. I’m coming in with that, and it’s given me motivation and that extra push. This is the one.”

Conejo (10-3 MMA, 1-2 UFC) returns to the cage Saturday at UFC Fight Night 231, which takes place at Ginasio Do Ibirapuera in Sao Paulo. The event streams on ESPN+. Conejo takes on Brazil’s Eduarda Moura (9-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC).

Conejo, 30, represented the Mexican women’s national wrestling team in her younger days. She’s a seven-time national champion. Despite the notable background, Conejo doesn’t believe she’s shown it partly due to torn meniscus and other knee injuries. Now healthy, Conejo is determined to return to her roots.

“I feel like I haven’t been able to show what I really do – wrestle,” Conejo said. “I think that’s what it is, being able to return to my base, and that means defending takedowns so I don’t get taken to the ground and also strengthening my attacks on the feet, my striking. I consider myself an aggressive fighter. These last fights, I didn’t feel like the aggressor, so that’s also part of returning to my roots.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 231.

UFC Fight Night 231: Make your predictions for Jailton Almeida vs. Derrick Lewis

We want your predictions for UFC Fight Night 231 in Sao Paulo with Almeida vs. Lewis at heavyweight.

We want your predictions for Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 231 event in Sao Paulo.

Our staff picks feature includes the consensus picks from MMA Junkie readers. Simply cast your vote for each bout below, and we’ll use the official tallies that are registered by Thursday at noon ET (9 a.m. PT).

Those MMA Junkie reader consensus picks will be part of the UFC Fight Night 231 main card staff predictions we release Friday ahead of the event. UFC Fight Night 231 takes place Saturday at Ginasio Do Ibirapuera in Sao Paulo. The event streams on ESPN+.

Make your picks for the fights below.

Curtis Blaydes opens up on UFC Sao Paulo withdrawal: ‘I promise this decision wasn’t made in haste’

Curtis Blaydes says he tried to battle through some injuries to make UFC Fight Night 231, but ultimately he decided to withdraw.

[autotag]Curtis Blaydes[/autotag] tried to battle through some injuries to make UFC Fight Night 231, but ultimately he decided to withdraw.

Blaydes (17-4 MMA, 12-4 UFC) was forced out of his Nov. 4 headliner vs. Jailton Almeida (19-2 MMA, 5-0 UFC) at Ibirapuera Gymnasium in Sao Paulo. Former title challenger Derrick Lewis (27-11 MMA, 18-9 UFC) will step in as a replacement.

Blaydes released a statement on his Facebook page to explain that he couldn’t overcome the injuries he was dealing with during camp.

“Injuries from camp weren’t healing at a fast enough pace for me to compete at the level required to be the best version of myself November 4th. There’s a difference between being hurt and injured took me almost 3 months to see the difference. I’m gonna take some time off from training and focus on rehabbing so i can come back fully confident in my athletic abilities. Apologies to everyone who was hyped up for this fight. I promise this decision wasn’t made in haste.”

https://www.facebook.com/curtis.blaydes.90/posts/pfbid02kh44E4Anf6NKw2DXfsmHbDFffvDsYnDdcLrxtEj42RwP3Gkr7gTPKt2bKek96Tql

Blaydes was looking to rebound from a first-round TKO loss to Sergei Pavlovich in April. Prior to that, he scored three straight wins over Jairzinho Rozenstruik, Chris Daukaus, and Tom Aspinall.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 231.