Veteran Heavyweight Looking to Move Down for Upcoming Tilt in Octagon
Jailton Almeida (22-5 MMA, 8-3 UFC may only be a few days removed from his last trip to the fabled Octagon, but if his recent comments are any indication, the winds of change are already starting to gust within the Almeida camp. This past Saturday night, Almeida made the walk to the cage for a […]
Jailton Almeida (22-5 MMA, 8-3 UFC may only be a few days removed from his last trip to the fabled Octagon, but if his recent comments are any indication, the winds of change are already starting to gust within the Almeida camp. This past Saturday night, Almeida made the walk to the cage for a heavyweight fight versus Rizvan Kuniev (14-3-1, 1 NC MMA, 1-1 UFC.)
Unfortunately for Almeida and his camp, the main card fight on Paramount Plus didn’t go so well. Over the course of 15 minutes of action, Rizvan Kuniev outpaced Jailton Almeida 102-52 in total strikes and he also stuffed all eight of his opponent’s takedown efforts.
After three rounds, the scorecards were all in Kuniev’s favor (30-27, 30-27, 29-28.) This was Jailton Almeida’s second defeat in a row. It also looks to be his last fight to be contested in the heavyweight division.
Earlier Monday, during the latest episode of the Connect Cast podcast, the topic of Almeida’s fight versus Kuniev was addressed, as was the entirety of Saturday night’s card at the Meta Apex.
In the episode, it was revealed that Jailton Almeida intends to make a return to the light heavyweight ranks in the aftermath of UFC Vegas 113 over the weekend. Subsequently, his manager acknowledged the move via social media later on in the day.
The 34-year old Almeida fought at light heavyweight between 2019 and 2022 following earlier stints at heavyweight, welterweight, and middleweight. During his previous light heavyweight run, he caught the attention of the UFC by winning the Thunder Fight Light Heavyweight Championship in Sao Paulo in early 2021.
A September 2021 fight on Dana White’s Contender Series saw Jailton Almeida draw the assignment of Nasrudin Nasrudinov (11-3 MMA) at the then-UFC Apex in Enterprise, NV. This contest resulted in a second-round submission victory and a UFC contract by the end of the show.
Jailton Almeida Moves to Heavyweight in 2022
After Almeida’s UFC promotional debut produced a first-round TKO win by way of punches over Danilo Marques (15-6 MMA, 2-2 UFC,) his sophomore appearance for the No. 1 MMA promotion of the world saw him move up to the heavyweight ranks for a contest versus Parker Porter (14-9 MMA, 4-4 UFC.)
Again, Jailton Almeida had a quick night at the office that evening, finishing Porter with a rear-naked choke inside the opening five minutes of action. Stoppage wins would become habitual for him over the course of this phase in his UFC tenure.
Each of his first five contests ended without the use of the judges’ scorecards. More impressively, four of his first five wins were recorded before the horn blared to end the opening round of the fight. This run of luck couldn’t last forever, and a November 2023 fight versus Derrick Lewis (29-13, 1 NC MMA, 20-11 UFC) saw him enter waters he hadn’t swam in since January of 2018, with that contest needing the judges’ scorecards to decide the winner.
Unlike the 2018 fight, however, Jailton Almeida emerged victorious after the final horn.
Jailton Almeida Goes 2-3 Before Departing from Heavyweight
In March of 2024, Almeida fought Curtis Blaydes (19-5, 1 NC MMA, 14-5, 1 NC UFC) during UFC 299 and went down in defeat for the first time in more than six years, being stopped in the second round by way of punches. A two-fight winning streak ensued, with both victories coming inside the first round.
In the wake of a January 2025 win over Serghei Spivac (17-6 MMA, 8-6 UFC,) Almeida was set to take on Alexander Volkov (39-11 MMA, 13-5 UFC.) This contest was left in the hands of the judges after 15 minutes inside the cage, resulting in a split decision defeat.
As previously mentioned, Almeida’s Saturday night tilt against Kuniev would prove to be the former’s final appearance at heavyweight. At the time of Jailton Almeida’s departure from the heavyweight division, he staked claim to the No. 6 spot in the rankings.
Final Thoughts: Why is Jailton Almeida Making the Move Down to Light Heavyweight Now?
Why is Jailton Almeida deciding to return to the light heavyweight division at this point? The fact that this move is being made after only losing two fights in a row could be seen by some as hitting the panic button.
Given that Jailton Almeida was within a win or two of being firmly in the UFC Heavyweight Championship picture as recently as last week, the decision to go back to the 205-lb division adds more intrigue to this story. Had Almeida chosen a different approach to the fight against Kuniev last Saturday night, this is a different story being told right now.
As it is, Jailton Almeida will be making a return to 205 in his next fight. Whether he’ll make a return to the win column during that fight remains to be seen.
