Matches to Make After UFC Fight Night 231

The Ultimate Fighting Championship was back in Sao Paulo Brazil for a solid card from top to bottom, especially when compared to many offerings this year. The main event featured native Brazilian heavyweight contender Jailton Almeida against the UFC's all-time leader in knockouts, Derrick Lewis. The two big men, however, were headed in opposite directions going into the main event. Almeida, for his part, was a surging contender riding an incredible 14-fight winning streak, including 5-0 in the UFC, all by finish. He had triumphed in his first main event in his last outing, a submission in just under 4 minutes of deadly striker Jairzinho Rozenstruik.

Despite a highlight-reel 33 second destruction of Marcos Rogerio de Lima in his last appearance, Lewis had lost three in a row before then, and at 38, is clearly on the decline. He had suffered devastating knockout losses on his feet against Tai Tuivasa and then Sergey Pavlovich, the latter in just 55 seconds, and was then easily taken down and submitted in just over 3 minutes by Sergey Spivak. His prospects looked grim against an old-school dominant grappler in Almeida, who had already destroyed a similarly dangerous striker in Rozenstruik, as well as finishing much better grapplers in Danilo Marques and Shamil Abdurakhimov.

It's fair to say that the bout ended up surprising everyone. Almeida got easy takedowns, as expected. However, rather than finishing matters in the first or second round, as he had in all his previous UFC appearances, he struggled to do much against a passive but determined Lewis, who spent entire rounds on his back but received relatively little damage, while avoiding all submission attempts. It led to a very boring stalemate at times, with the referee repeatedly encouraging Almeida to work...when he was in mount. Almeida won all five rounds to score the unanimous decision but may have hurt his reputation regardless, as the fight was meant to be the perfect set-up for a dominant, quick stoppage.

In the co-main, top Brazilian prospect Gabriel Bonfim battled the tough Danish veteran Nicholas Dalby. A BJJ virtuoso, Bonfim was a perfect 15-0 as a pro, including back-to-back submissions in the UFC of Mounir Lazzez and Trevin Giles in 73 and 49 seconds, respectively. Dalby had consistently defied the odds, however, and was riding a three-fight UFC winning streak of his own heading into the clash. For the first round and a half, Bonfim looked spectacular, dominating a very game Dalby on the feet as well as taking him down and inflicting heavy ground-and-pound. However, the high pace proved to be too much, as Bonfim became badly gassed in the middle of the second. Dalby, who turns 39 in 12 days, showed no signs of fatigue as he poured on the punishment, abusing Bonfim with an endless barrage of punches and knees. Finally, Bonfim fell over and covered up for dear life, with the referee stopping it at 4:33 of the 2nd, with Dalby scoring a gigantic upset as a nearly +500 underdog and handing Bonfim the first loss of his career.

In other significant bouts, Elves Brener took advantage of a huge defensive lapse by Kaynan Kruschewsky with an overhand left that landed perfectly behind the ear and left his opponent utterly inert on the canvas. Another Brazilian, Vitor Petrino, stayed undefeated by knocking out skilled striker Modestas Bukauskas with a perfect short left hook counter as his foe came forward.

Here are four fantastic fights that can be booked featuring the UFC Fight Night 231 winners.

Related » UFC Sao Paulo Round-by-Round Scoring

Jailton Almeida vs. Sergey Spivak

Almeida has been the beneficiary of highly favorable match-making, constantly facing either dangerous strikers with deficient defensive grappling or inferior grapplers who offer little standup threat. As I noted in my column linked above, Almeida hasn't even had to display much striking across all his UFC fights. Considering he is 32 and has had 22 pro contests, it's time to stop protecting him and give him a real test. No. 7 ranked Spivak perfectly fits the bell, a terrific grappler in his own right who has competent striking. Will Almeida have any grappling success against Spivak, who is heavier and likely the better pure wrestler? How will he do in the striking if he can't get the takedown? It's an intriguing series of questions. Moreover, it's an important fight between two Top 10 UFC heavyweights who have many years of being contenders left, with Almeida 32 and Spivak 28.

Nicolas Dalby vs. Kevin Holland

With his impressive and unlikely 4-fight winning strike, why not finally give the nearly 39-year-old Dalby an opportunity against a name, ranked foe? Of those, no one fits the bill better than No. 12 welterweight Kevin Holland, who could also use a victory after dropping a decision to Jack Della Maddalena. This could be a tremendously exciting bout regardless of who wins. Holland would look for a big knockout or possibly a slick submission of the ground. Dalby would never stop fighting and keep coming back for more, challenging Holland the whole way through. And given the incredible upsets Dalby has recorded in his career, one can never count him out. The fans would be the true winners here.

Elves Brener vs. Drew Dober

After scoring huge upsets in his first two UFC fights with a split decision over Zuibara Tukhugov and then a third-round knockout of a very good Guram Kutateladze at lightweight, Brener proved it was no fluke against short-notice Kruschewsky at a 165 pound catchweight, concussing him into a long sleep in under a round. I would love to see how the 26-year-old Brazilian would do against a dangerous brawler in No. 15 ranked Dober. Brener has the better striking on paper, but Dober has won against more skilled foes with his resourcefulness and toughness. This could be a true barn-burner, an incredible toe-to-toe war that could win fight of the night honors on any card it appears. Furthermore, it will be a good test for Brener to see how far he can go. If he fails, it's also not the end of the world, since again, he is only 26.

Vitor Petrino vs. Ryan Spann

Petrino is also only 26 years old but already 10-0 and 3-0 in the UFC, showcasing powerful, wonderfully timed striking as well as a solid grappling game, having previously tapped Marcin Prachnio. I would like to see how he fares against dangerous but mercurial No. 10 ranked contender Ryan Spann, a highly winnable fight on paper. Spann has deadly striking but both defensive and cardio flaws which Petrino could potentially exploit. The grappling could be interesting too, as both men have some ability in this area, and it's unclear which one will have the upper hand. A win for Petrino is huge and makes him an instant contender in the UFC light heavyweight division. A win for Spann would snap a two-fight losing contender and revitalize his prospects, while also not hurting Petrino much, as he is again only 26. It would also likely be an exciting affair with a high chance of a finish, potentially a solid co-main on a Fight Night card.