‘Brazilian Monster’ Xylton Almeida (32, Brazil) aims for his 15th consecutive win against ‘Black Beast’ Derrick Lewis (38, USA) at home.

Almeida, ranked 9th in the UFC heavyweight rankings, will face Luis, ranked 10th, in the 5th round of the main event of 'UFC Fight Night: Almeida vs Luis' held at the Ibirapuera Arena in Sao Paulo, Brazil on the 5th (Korean time).

Almeida, who is currently on a 14-game winning streak, is a Brazilian heavyweight powerhouse that has been around for a long time. Brazil, a traditional mixed martial arts powerhouse, produced two heavyweight champions: Junior dos Santos (39, Brazil) in 2011 and Fabricio Werdum (46, Brazil) in 2015, but has been quiet for a while recently. Brazilian fans are hoping that top grappler Almeida will once again bring the heavyweight championship belt to Brazil.

Almeida said that “an opportunity for a title fight is opening up” in the heavyweight division. The match between heavyweight champion Jon Jones (36, USA) and No. 1 ranked Stipe Miocic (41, USA), scheduled to take place at UFC 295 next week, was canceled due to Jones' injury. Instead, a heavyweight interim title match will be held between 2nd place Sergei Pavlovich (31, Russia) and 4th place Tom Aspinall (30, England).

If the top five contenders fight each other and the title battle line is settled, the player who comes out on top can quickly get an opportunity. Almeida expressed his desire for the championship belt, saying, “If I beat Lewis this time, I will get a title shot, or if I win one more time, I will get a title shot.”

This Sao Paulo tournament is a full-fledged test for Almeida as a title contender. Opponent Lewis challenged for the UFC heavyweight title twice. He is a strong man who defeated former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou (37, Cameroon). He boasts so much power that he can be called a beast. He has 14 knockout (TKO) wins, the most in UFC history.

The key to his success is his defense on the ground. Almeida, a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) black belt, finished all five of his fights in the UFC with a takedown followed by ground and pound or submission. On the other hand, Lewis is a grappler killer with excellent ability to get up from the ground. Many top grapplers, including UFC heavyweight ranking 5th place Curtis Blaydes (32, USA), were KO'd by Lewis.

“I think our skill level is similar,” Lewis said. “This is especially true on the ground,” he said loudly, adding, “I think I will be able to successfully perform a leglock submission on Almeida in the early part of the first round.”

In response, Almeida boasted, “In the last game, if I took down Jairdinho Rozenstruik, he couldn’t get up until the referee helped him up,” and added, “Even Luis won’t be able to get up if I knock him down once.”

In the co-main event, divine Gabriel Bongfim (26, Brazil), who has won 15 fights, will clash with Nicolas Dalby (38, Denmark), a veteran of 29 fights (22 wins, 1 draw, 4 losses, 2 nullification).

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