Fight Facts: UFC Fight Night 231 ‘Almeida vs. Lewis’

Fight Facts is a breakdown of all of the interesting information and Octagon oddities on every card, with some puns, references and portmanteaus to keep things fun. These deep stat dives delve into the numbers, providing historical context and telling the stories behind those numbers.

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TOTAL NUMBER OF UFC FIGHTS: 7,403
TOTAL NUMBER OF UFC EVENTS: 669

The Ultimate Fighting Championship said “olá” to Sao Paulo for the first time in years with a fight card that fell apart in the weeks preceding it. What was initially hailed as a possible clean sweep for Brazilian competitors instead had the home country fighters split against their foreign adversaries. UFC Fight Night 231 featured an extremely unexpected decision, a stunner of an upset by a grizzled vet and an instant face-planting contender for “Knockout of the Year.”

It's Bronsteter’s Fault: The two heavyweights in the main event combined for 19 finishes and zero decision losses in the UFC. Due to this, the betting line for Fight Goes the Distance could be found at an astronomical +1000, and it ended up hitting at night’s end after five smothering rounds of combat.

Shattered Our Hopes and Dreams Too: Dominating Derrick Lewis from bell to bell, Jailton Almeida claimed a decision. This shattered his perfect 100% career finish rate, which fell to 95% with the victory.

Everyone Was Gassed: Before this main event, Almeida had never competed beyond the 15-minute mark as a professional. His previous full three-rounder came against Bruno Assis in 2018, while his other 19 prior bouts had concluded before the end of Round 2.

Small Miracles: In a losing effort, Lewis connected with 20 significant strikes across the 25-minute endeavor. This total is 10 times the amount landed by Almeida’s first five UFC foes combined.

No Gold, No Problem: For the 11th time, Lewis has served as one of the main event competitors on a UFC card. This total is the most of any combatant never to earn a UFC belt, breaking a tie with Chan Sung Jung, Dan Henderson and Nate Diaz.

The Moment Never Came: Lewis also broke new ground by going the full 25 minutes against Almeida. Lewis had never reached the fifth frame, despite this being his 11th five-round UFC fight. The only fighter with more headlining appearances that never passed the 20-minute mark is Vitor Belfort.

Finish or Be Finished: “The Black Beast” had not dropped a decision inside the Octagon until falling short against Almeida, with Lewis entering into his 28th UFC outing on this card. This is far and away the latest into a UFC career of any fighter to lose their first fight on the scorecards.

Bad Week for the Bonfims: Nicolas Dalby rallied in late Round 2 to put Gabriel Bonfim away with strikes. The Danish fighter recorded his first finish since 2019 while accounting for his first stoppage in the Octagon after 12 appearances.

Make the Trilogy Match: Securing a decision over Don'Tale Mayes in their rematch, Rodrigo Nascimento claimed his third victory in a row. All of the last three wins came on the scorecards, accounting for every decision in the career of “Yogi Bear.”

Where’s My New Belt: Elves Brener and Kaynan Kruschewsky competed at a pre-planned 165 pounds due to the short-notice nature of their meeting. This is the third UFC bout ever booked at the de facto super lightweight division, with Hermes Franca vs. Joe Jordan in 2006 and Jalin Turner vs. Brok Weaver in 2020 preceding it.

Chute Boxe Power: Brener destroyed Kruschewsky in Round 1, face-planting his fellow countryman with a left hand. The Chute Boxe Diego Lima fighter has notched two knockouts in a row, which account for two-thirds of his career total. His finish rate rose to 87.5%.

Who Wouldn’t Want Round 4? Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos and Rinat Fakhretdinov fought to a thrilling majority draw, with the former getting the lone card in his favor. This accounts for the fifth draw in the UFC this year, which ties the high since 2017, when seven took place.

Like That Other Vitor: With one punch, Vitor Petrino lamped Modestas Bukauskas in the second frame. “Merciless” has now finished his foe in eight of 10 pro outings while still never tasting defeat.

The Toughest Out There Is: Taking home a unanimous verdict over Denise Gomes, Angela Hill notched her 10th win in the UFC’s strawweight division. “Overkill” ties former champs Joanna Jedrzejczyk and Carla Esparza for the divisional lead.

Thirty-Eight and Going Strong: The fight for Hill was her 22nd at 115 pounds, which adds to her division-high total. Karolina Kowalkiewicz is the next closest on the list, with 16 to her credit. Hill added 15 minutes to her total in-cage time, which already exceeded five hours and is now one full hour more than the woman immediately beneath her.

More Like Angela Mountain: Hill’s eight triumphs courtesy of the judges in her weight class put her tied for the top spot alongside Jedrzejczyk, Esparza and Kowalkiewicz. Despite her storied resume, she has not faced any of those three in a professional bout.

Not Finished Yet: Connecting with 76 significant strikes on Gomes, Hill added to her No. 2 total that now reaches 1,896. The only fighter in UFC history with more is Max Holloway and his 3,197.

A Flyweight Against an Atomweight: After missing weight by over three pounds, Eduarda Moura ran through Montserrat Ruiz in two rounds. The Brazilian who calls herself “Ronda” has recorded nine stoppages over her 10 pro victories, including five straight.

That Vaunted British Wrestling Program: Marc Diakiese succeeded on three takedowns en route to a decision win over Kaue Fernandes. The Brit now posts 40 in the UFC, which puts him with the eighth-most in UFC lightweight history. Gleison Tibau’s 84 still reigns far and above any other competitor.

Never Say Never Again: Coming into UFC Fight Night 231, Almeida had never won via decision (20 fights), Bonfim had never been defeated (15 fights) and Abusupiyan Magomedov had never dropped consecutive bouts (30 fights).

He Got His Own Theme Music: Ahead of his fight with Bukauskas, Petrino entered the Ibirapuera Gymnasium with a custom track that included announcer Bruce Buffer declaring his previous victory. The track was ultimately titled “Abertura Oficial Vitor Petrino” by DJ Ruan do Primeiro; the Brazilian won dramatically after hearing it played.

Eh Eh Eh: Selecting “Zombie” by The Cranberries as her walkout music, Moura became the first UFC fighter this year to win after picking that band. Previous to Moura, Caolan Loughran, Chan Sung Jung, Priscila Cachoeira and Seung Guk Choi all suffered defeats in 2023 when walking out to music from The Cranberries.