Tag: Jailton Almeida

USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings, June 4: Jailton Almeida, Ailin Perez climb up

UFC 302 is in the books. Check out the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings.

UFC 302 is in the books and with a handful of ranked fighters on the card, there was bound to be movement.

The biggest winner in the USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings is heavyweight contender [autotag]Jailton Almeida[/autotag], who quickly submitted Alexandr Romanov in the first round. As a result, Almeida has moved from No. 10 to No. 7 in the divisional rankings.

Also, women’s bantamweight [autotag]Ailin Perez[/autotag] entered the honorable mentions, replacing Melissa Gatto. Perez defeated rival Joselyne Edwards by unanimous decision on the prelims.

Check out all the latest pound-for-pound and divisional USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings above.

Jailton Almeida wants UFC main event fight vs. Ciryl Gane in Paris: ‘I can see myself finishing him’

Hoping to see the Eiffel Tower, Jailton Almeida wants booking against Ciryl Gane in UFC’s return to Paris.

NEWARK, N.J. – [autotag]Jailton Almeida[/autotag] wants to get some tourism done, and while he’s at it, kick some ass.

The UFC heavyweight contender is hoping to get matched up against [autotag]Ciryl Gane[/autotag] in what many expect to be the UFC’s return to Paris in September. Almeida (21-3 MMA, 7-1 UFC) called out Gane following his quick submission win at Saturday’s UFC 302. He hopes to get the fight, but more importantly, he just hopes to get a spot on the card regardless of opponent.

“This week, I was able to see the Statue of Liberty, and it got my blood going, and I want to see the Eiffel Tower now,” Almeida said at the UFC 302 post-fight press conference. “I want to start doing a little more sightseeing, and it just so happens to be that Ciryl Gane is probably going to be the main event there. I want to fight in Paris, regardless. If it’s Ciryl, great. If he doesn’t want to fight me, I’ll fight anybody there.”

If the UFC matches him up against the Frenchman, Almeida expects to submit him. He’s not sure if he could pull off what Jon Jones did, but given enough time, he’s sure he’d get the job done before the final bell.

“A fight is always different, but I would be for sure looking for the finish,”
Almeida said. “I don’t know if I could get it early like Jon Jones was able to because I don’t think Ciryl was expecting that, but I can see myself finishing him in the third round or fourth round if it’s a (five-round fight).”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 302.

UFC 302 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Islam Makhachev’s $42,000 tops card

Fighters from Saturday’s UFC 302 took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $218,500.

NEWARK, N.J. – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC 302 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $281,500.

The program, a comprehensive plan that includes outfitting requirements, media obligations and other items under the fighter code of conduct, replaces the previous payments made under the UFC Athlete Outfitting Policy.

UFC 302 took place at Prudential Center. The main card aired on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and ESPN+.

The full UFC 302 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Islam Makhachev[/autotag]: $42,000
def. [autotag]Dustin Poirier[/autotag]: $32,000

[autotag]Sean Strickland[/autotag]: $21,000
def. [autotag]Paulo Costa[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Kevin Holland[/autotag]: $21,000
def. [autotag]Michal Oleksiejczuk[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Niko Price[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Alex Morono[/autotag]: $21,000

[autotag]Randy Brown[/autotag]: $16,000
def. [autotag]Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Roman Kopylov[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Cesar Almeida[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Grant Dawson[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Joe Solecki[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Jailton Almeida[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Alexandr Romanov[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Jake Matthews[/autotag]: $16,000
def. [autotag]Phil Rowe[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Bassil Hafez[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Mickey Gall[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Ailin Perez[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Joselyne Edwards[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Andre Lima[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Mitch Raposo[/autotag]: $4,000

Under the UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance program’s payout tiers, which appropriate the money generated by Venum’s multi-year sponsorship with the UFC, fighters are paid based on their total number of UFC bouts, as well as Zuffa-era WEC fights (January 2007 and later) and Zuffa-era Strikeforce bouts (April 2011 and later). Fighters with 1-3 bouts receive $4,000 per appearance; 4-5 bouts get $4,500; 6-10 bouts get $6,000; 11-15 bouts earn $11,000; 16-20 bouts pocket $16,000; and 21 bouts and more get $21,000. Additionally, champions earn $42,000 while title challengers get $32,000.

In addition to experience-based pay, UFC fighters will receive in perpetuity royalty payments amounting to 20-30 percent of any UFC merchandise sold that bears their likeness, according to officials.

Full 2024 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:

Year-to-date total: $3,264,500
2023 total: $8,188,000
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $26,001,500

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 302.

UFC 302 video: Hear from each winner, guest fighters backstage

Check out what the UFC 302 winners and guest fighters had to say backstage at Saturday’s event.

NEWARK, N.J. – UFC 302 took place Saturday with 12 bouts on the lineup. We’ve got you covered with backstage winner interviews from Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.

You can hear from all the UFC 302 winners by checking out their post-fight news conferences below.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 302.

UFC 302 video: Jailton Almeida taps Alexandr Romanov with standing rear-naked choke

At UFC 302, Jailton Almeida bounced back from a knockout loss when he made quick work of Alexandr Romanov.

NEWARK, N.J. – [autotag]Jailton Almeida[/autotag] got it done inside one Saturday at Prudential Center to bounce back into the win column.

In under 20 seconds, Almeida (21-3 MMA, 7-1 UFC) took down opponent Alexandr Romanov (17-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC) during their UFC 302 preliminary card bout. After a few attempts, Almeida secured a rear-naked choke for the tap at 2:27 of Round 1.

Almeida was emotional after the victory, which comes less than three months after a knockout loss to Curtis Blaydes in March. That defeat was the first of his UFC tenure.

While Almeida has had fairly consistent results over the course of his eight-fight UFC tenure, he’s occasionally struggled to finish fights inside the distance. The quick submission Saturday moved him further in his intended direction and he called for a fight at the UFC Fight Night in September in

Romanov has lost three of his most recent four outings after a five-fight winning streak to kick off his UFC tenure.

Up-to-the-minute UFC 302 results include:

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 302.

Jailton Almeida def. Alexandr Romanov at UFC 302: Best photos

Check out the best photos from Jailton Almeida’s first-round submission win over Alexandr Romanov at UFC 302.

Check out the best photos from [autotag]Jailton Almeida[/autotag]’s first-round submission win over [autotag]Alexandr Romanov[/autotag] at UFC 302 at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. (Fight and venue photos by Joe Camporeale, USA Today Sports)

Jailton Almeida a ‘huge fan’ of Khabib Nurmagomedov, says he received tips ahead of UFC 302

Jailton Almeida got some insight from a Hall of Famer ahead of UFC 302.

JERSEY CITY, N.J. – [autotag]Jailton Almeida[/autotag] got some insight from a Hall of Famer ahead of UFC 302.

Almeida (20-3 MMA, 6-1 UFC) meets Alexandr Romanov (17-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC) on Saturday’s main card (pay-per-view/ESPN2/ESPN+) at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.

Almeida competes on the same card as headliner and UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev, who will have [autotag]Khabib Nurmagomedov[/autotag] in his corner. Almeida says he had the opportunity to speak to Nurmagomedov and was surprised when “The Eagle” told him he watched his fights.

“I’ve always been a big fan of Makhachev,” Almeida told reporters, including MMA Junkie, through an interpreter at Wednesday’s UFC 302 media day. “As everyone knows, I’m a fan of that school. I’m a fan of that style. I’m a huge Khabib fan. I crossed paths with him doing some training, and I really got emotional about it, just somebody I’ve always admired.

“I actually found out that he watched my fights and had some comments on my fight. So, I was just there absorbing all the tips and the fact that he actually watched my fights, and I’ve watched him train, as well, so I saw some things. Listen, big fan of Makhachev. I just think he’s a surreal evolution, he’s growing a lot, and I think it’s going to be Islam (beating Poirier).”

Almeida will look to rebound from his first octagon loss when he takes on fellow grappler Romanov.

“He’s a really experienced guy,” Almeida said. “Somebody that’s got a good record, coming off a win, but a guy that’s young. He’s 33 years old, but for his age he’s got a lot of experience under his belt and is a guy with a different style for heavyweights. He likes the ground game, the wrestling, the grappling style and again, an experienced guy that likes to grapple.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 302.

Jailton Almeida advises Tom Aspinall to be ‘very patient’ vs. Curtis Blaydes at UFC 304

Jailton Almeida hopes Tom Aspinall can learn from his mistakes when he defends his interim title against Curtis Blaydes at UFC 304.

[autotag]Jailton Almeida[/autotag] hopes [autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag] can learn from his mistakes when he defends his interim heavyweight title against [autotag]Curtis Blaydes[/autotag] at UFC 304.

Almeida (19-3 MMA, 6-1 UFC), who meets Alexandr Romanov on Saturday at UFC 302 at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. (pay-per-view, ESPN2, ESPN+), is coming off a difficult loss to Blaydes in his most recent performance. He was winning the fight early after scoring nine takedowns in the opening round, but then Blaydes turned the tide and earned a knockout from ground strikes early in the second frame at UFC 299 in March.

The Brazilian admits he got overeager against Blaydes due to his early success, and that ultimately cost him as he was unable to show patience and maintain the same pace over the course of three rounds.

He said Aspinall (14-3 MMA, 7-1 UFC) needs to study that approach going into his rematch with Blaydes (18-4 MMA, 13-4 UFC) on June 27 at Co-op Live in Manchester, England, and advises the interim champ not to overextend himself in the early moments of the bout.

“I think Aspinall is going to win,” Almeida told MMA Junkie through an interpreter. “He’s a more complete fighter. He has a lot of respect for his career. I do believe that Curtis is a very strategic fighter and Aspinall will have to be very patient, just as I wasn’t. Aspinall will have to be very patient and understand to when he can throw himself at Curtis, because Curtis will be waiting for him. On the floor, probably.”

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Blaydes got a victory over Aspinall in their first meeting at UFC Fight Night 208 in July 2022, but it was far from satisfying. Aspinall went down with an injury just 15 seconds into the headlining bout, and now the pair get the opportunity to have a sequel without controversy.

In the meantime, Almeida, No. 10 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie heavyweight rankings, will be looking to reestablish himself as a contender against Romanov and set himself up for a future encounter with No. 2-ranked Aspinall or rematch with No. 5-ranked Blaydes.

“I want to fight Aspinall in the future, and I also would like to come back and fight with Curtis once again,” Almeida said. “I’m looking for revenge, and I know the first step is to have a victory (at UFC 302).”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 302 and UFC 304.

UFC 302’s Jailton Almeida ‘sad’ he fumbled Tom Aspinall interim title shot with loss to Curtis Blaydes

Jailton Almeida can’t help but think of the what-ifs now that the UFC heavyweight title picture is taking form.

[autotag]Jailton Almeida[/autotag] can’t help but think of the what-ifs now that the UFC heavyweight title picture is taking form for the second half of 2024.

Almeida (19-3 MMA, 6-1 UFC) returns to the octagon UFC 302 on June 1 when he takes on Alexandr Romanov (17-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC) in a main card bout at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. (pay-per-view, ESPN2, ESPN+). The Brazilian will attempt to get back on track following his first octagon defeat, which came against Curtis Blaydes at UFC 299 in March.

With heavyweight champion Jon Jones recovering from injury and expected to return vs. Stipe Miocic on Nov. 9 in New York, interim champion Tom Aspinall has been booked to defend against Blaydes at UFC 304 on June 27 in Manchester, England.

That would’ve likely been Almeida’s spot had he beat Blaydes, and he admits it makes the result all the more painful.

“I felt a bit surprised and sad,” Almeida told MMA Junkie through an interpreter. “I definitely felt this was my great opportunity to fight against Aspinall. Unfortunately, it didn’t happen. It left me with a bad taste in my mouth. Once I learned it wasn’t going to be against me, I knew I missed my chance. But I also know God’s timing is perfect, and I will have my chance in the future.”

Almeida’s disappointment is understandable. After starting his UFC tenure with seven straight wins and six finishes, he got a huge opportunity against a perennial contender in Blaydes. Almeida, 32, came out on fire, landing nine takedowns and controlling Blaydes for all but 21 seconds of the five-minute opening round, per UFC Stats.

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Blaydes found an answer in the second round, though, because he stuffed Almeida’s first takedown attempt and then landed a slew of hammerfists for the knockout.

It was an important lesson for Almeida, he said, but one he thinks he’s now fully learned. That’s why, in his mind, what happened with Blaydes isn’t a true defeat.

“I don’t really consider it a loss, even though it’s a loss on paper,” Almeida said. “That’s what I think. I do believe I needed a better strategy. I felt I had a good fight. I was able to get in big hits, but I do believe my strategy in general had to change. A true champion needs to lose to be able to adapt and get better. I’m only taking this loss to be able to improve.

“I think I did a really good fight. I hit him a lot with a lot of lefts. The beginning of the fight was pretty much perfect, but right at the end, I felt like I should’ve been more cautious. I was overexcited about the momentum. I felt I should’ve been more patient. I just went all-in, and I should waited more.”

Almeida, No. 10 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie heavyweight rankings, will have the chance to show his improvements against No. 14-ranked Romanov at UFC 304. Romanov has landed at least one takedown against six of his seven UFC opponents so far, and could be a threat to Almeida’s grappling.

The focus going into fight night isn’t much on the opponent, though. Almeida is determined to overcome his setback and get through Romanov to put himself back on track to get marquee opportunities in the division.

“After the loss I feel strong, I feel happy, I feel confident,” Almeida said. “I’ve really taken the time to understand my faults. So I feel stronger than ever. Especially after the Curtis vs. Aspinall fight was announced, this is serving as an extra motivation for me because I want to fight Aspinall in the future, and I also would like to come back and fight with Curtis once again. I’m looking for revenge, and I know the first step is to have a victory on June 1.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 302.

Jailton Almeida gets new UFC 302 opponent Alexandr Romanov

With Alexander Volkov off UFC 302, Jailton Almeida now faces Alexandr Romanov in Newark, N.J.

[autotag]Jailton Almeida[/autotag] remains on UFC 302, just against a different opponent than initially expected.

With original opponent Alexander Volkov off the card, Almeida (20-3 MMA, 6-1 UFC) now is expected to face [autotag]Alexandr Romanov[/autotag] (17-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC) instead.

The bout is targeted for June 1 at Prudential Center. Verbal agreements are in place with bout contracts expected to be issued and signed in the coming days. Ag. Fight was first to report the news.

Volkov (37-10 MMA, 11-4 UFC) was removed by the promotion and slotted into a fight June 22 in Saudi Arabia vs. Sergei Pavlovich (18-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC. However, the status of that bout is unclear.

Almeida, 32, makes a relatively quick turnaround after the first loss of his UFC tenure, a knockout defeat against Curtis Blaydes at UFC 299 in Miami in March. The defeat snapped a 15-fight winning streak that included victories over Derrick Lewis and Jairzinho Rozenstruik among others.

Romanov, 33, hopes to keep his momentum alive after a July decision victory over Blagoy Ivanov. The victory snapped a two-fight skid that consisted of the first two losses of his career.

With the addition, the UFC 302 fight card includes:

  • Roman Dolidze vs. Anthony Hernandez
  • Jailton Almeida vs. Alexandr Romanov
  • Joselyne Edwards vs. Ailin Perez
  • Mickey Gall vs. Bassil Hafez
  • Grant Dawson vs. Joe Solecki
  • Jake Matthews vs. Phil Rowe
  • Andre Lima vs. Hyun Sung Park
  • Niko Price vs. Jeremiah Wells
  • Su Mudaerji vs. Joshua Van
  • Cesar Almeida vs. Roman Kopylov

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 302.