Preview: UFC Fight Night 231 'Almeida vs. Lewis'

Welterweights

Gabriel Bonfim (15-0) vs. Nicolas Dalby (22-4-1, 2 N/C)

Odds: Bonfim (-625), Dalby (+455)

The UFC certainly seems to be in the Gabriel Bonfim business with this co-main event placement, and he looks like a strong horse to back at the moment. The younger and more physically gifted of the Bonfim brothers that earned UFC contracts last year, Gabriel's recent fights have played out in similar fashion; while "Marretinha" looks to have an approach built around finding the knockout, he's proven surprisingly adept at stunning his opponents and then using that opportunity to quickly jump on a submission, pulling that trick off in his last three fights. Even if Bonfim suffers his first professional loss sooner rather than later, the future is still bright for the 26-year-old, but for the time being, this fight against Dalby is a clear opportunity for the Brazilian to prove he's ready for some big things. Dalby's comeback has quietly been quite successful, so it's nice to see the Dane get a prominent fight here even as the clearly intended B-side. A top European prospect upon signing with the UFC in 2015, Dalby washed out of the promotion in surprisingly quick fashion, leading to some struggles with depression and alcoholism. Dalby has rebuilt himself in impressive fashion; he's now a complete powerhouse physically, with a much more focused game built around marching down his opponent to either pour on offense or turn things into an absolute grind. His return to the UFC, a 2019 win over Alex Oliveira as part of the promotion's debut in Copenhagen, was a beautiful moment, and Dalby currently finds himself riding a three-fight win streak. But for being such a well-tested veteran at this point, Dalby's in the position of needing to prove something himself, namely that a 2020 loss to Jesse Ronson - later overturned to a no contest - was a fluke, as the historically durable Dalby got shockingly sparked out in under three minutes. For all of Dalby's recent success, he's yet to fight someone as venomous a finisher as Bonfim during this second UFC run, which makes for a clear dynamic; Dalby can certainly drag Bonfim into the deepest waters of the Brazilian's career given some time to work, but he's going to be in clear danger marching into Bonfim's offense - both striking and grappling - early on. This is a perfect test for Bonfim at this point, but he looks legit enough to earn the benefit of the doubt here; the pick is Bonfim via first-round submission.

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Almeida vs. Lewis
Bonfim vs. Dalby
Nascimento vs. Mayes
Borralho vs. Magomedov
Vieira vs. Petrosyan
Bonfim vs. Pichel
The Prelims