Tag: Jailton Almeida

Why Jailton Almeida favors Sergei Pavlovich over Tom Aspinall in UFC 295 interim heavyweight title fight

Jailton Almeida is picking Sergei Pavlovich to beat Tom Aspinall at UFC 295.

Heavyweight fights are often a flip of the coin, but in the upcoming UFC interim heavyweight title fight [autotag]Jailton Almeida[/autotag] has a favorite.

After the cancellation of the UFC heavyweight title fight between Jon Jones and Stipe Micocic, which was supposed to headline UFC 295 on Nov. 11, the promotion booked an interim title fight pitting Sergei Pavlovich against Tom Aspinall.

Almeida (19-2 MMA, 5-0 UFC) thinks Pavlovich is going to win that fight, given that he was supposed to be the backup for Jones-Miocic, and was already training for that date.

“Jon Jones’ injury ones up opportunities, and now we have Tom Aspinall vs. Pavlovich,” Almeida said through an interpreter at Wednesday’s UFC Fight Night 231 media day. “As far as who I see as the favorite, I think Tom Aspinall didn’t have the mentality that he was going to fight for the belt. Actually, after his fight, he said he wanted Ciryl Gane.

“Meanwhile, Pavlovich is a guy that had his mind focused on fighting for the belt, and he was serving as backup and was doing a full camp. I think I’ll favor Pavlovich. He’s the guy with the full camp, and Aspinall was just training to train. He wasn’t mentally ready for a title fight. He wasn’t thinking about the title.”

Almeida returns to the cage this Saturday to take on Derrick Lewis in the main event of UFC Fight Night 231, which takes place at Ginasio Do Ibirapuera in Sao Paulo, and streams on ESPN+.

He believes a win over Lewis (27-11 MMA, 18-9 UFC) could get him a shot at the belt or a title eliminator bout. Almeida also mentioned how he was bummed to hear about Jones’ injury, as he wants that fight in the future.

“I maybe do worry a little about not achieving my dream of fighting against Jon Jones,” Almeida said regarding Jones’ torn pectoral. “I’ve said it in interviews that my dream is to fight Jon Jones.

“However, I’m also happy for the opportunities to fight for the title that get opened up now. Jon Jones is out and now Tom Aspinall is fighting Sergei Pavlovich. If I beat Derrick Lewis on Saturday, I could be next or maybe they make me do one more. There’s a lot going on in the division, but it might open up opportunities.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 231.

UFC free fight: Jailton Almeida puts on grappling clinic against Shamil Abdurakhimov

Watch Jailton Almeida’s impressive TKO win against Shamil Abdurakhimov.

[autotag]Jailton Almeida[/autotag]’s grappling is proving to be a nightmare for the UFC heavyweight division.

Back in January at UFC 283 in Rio de Janeiro, Almeida dominated Shamil Abdurakhimov in ways that no one has done before. Almeida took down and completely controlled Abdurakhimov, showcasing his high-level grappling. Almeida eventually back-mounted Abdurakhimov and battered him with ground-and-pound until he got the TKO win.

You can watch Abdurakhimov’s dominant showing in the video above.

Almeida (19-2 MMA, 5-0 UFC) returns to the cage this Saturday in the main event of UFC Fight Night 231 at Ginasio Do Ibirapuera in Sao Paulo. He takes on former UFC title challenger Derrick Lewis (27-11 MMA, 18-9 UFC).

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 231.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (Oct. 9-15)

All the UFC and Bellator fight announcements that were first reported or confirmed by MMA Junkie in the past week.

MMA fight announcements are hard to follow. With so many outlets and channels available, it’s nearly impossible to organize.

But here at MMA Junkie, we’ve got your back.

Each week, we’ll compile all the newly surfaced fights in one spot. Every Monday, expect a feature listing everything you might have missed from the UFC or Bellator.

Here are the fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie or officially announced by the promotions from Oct. 9-15.

Derrick Lewis replaces Curtis Blaydes, headlines UFC Sao Paulo vs. Jailton Almeida

UFC Fight Night 221 has a new main event.

“The Black Beast” is headed to Brazil.

With [autotag]Curtis Blaydes[/autotag] out, [autotag]Derrick Lewis[/autotag] has stepped in against [autotag]Jailton Almeida[/autotag]. The bout will headline UFC Fight Night 221 on Nov. 4 at Ibirapuera Gymnasium in Sao Paulo.

Two people with knowledge of the change recently informed MMA Junkie of it but asked to remain anonymous since the promotion has yet to make an official announcement. Ag.Fight first reported the news Monday.

Lewis (27-11 MMA, 18-9 UFC) looks to build on the momentum he gained at UFC 291 in July when he made quick work of Marcos Rogerio de Lima and went viral with a pantless celebration. The victory snapped a three-fight losing skid and earned Lewis a new UFC contract.

Almeida (19-2 MMA, 5-0 UFC) rides a 14-fight winning streak into the matchup including five straight finishes in the UFC. He most recently competed in May during his first promotional headliner, when he defeated Jairzinho Rozenstruik by first-round submission at UFC on ABC 4.

With the addition, UFC Fight Night 221 fight card includes:

  • Jailton Almeida vs. Derrick Lewis
  • Gabriel Bonfim vs. Nicolas Dalby
  • Don’Tale Mayes vs. Rodrigo Nascimento
  • Armen Petrosyan vs. Rodolfo Vieira
  • Ismael Bonfim vs. Vinc Pichel
  • Caio Borralho vs. Abus Magomedov
  • Modestas Bukauskas vs. Vitor Petrino
  • Elves Brenner vs. Esteban Ribovics
  • Rinat Fakhretdinov vs. Elizeu Zaleski
  • Denise Gomes vs. Angela Hill
  • Eduarda Moura vs. Montserrat Ruiz
  • Lucas Alexander vs. David Onama
  • Marc Diakiese vs. Kaue Fernandes

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 231.

DWCS 58 winner Eduarda Moura hopes to share UFC Sao Paulo card with teammate Jailton Almeida

Eduarda Moura wants on the UFC’s return to Brazil after earning a contract on Dana White’s Contender Series 58.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Eduarda Moura[/autotag] wants on the UFC’s return to Brazil after earning a contract on Dana White’s Contender Series 58.

Undefeated Brazilian Moura (9-0) submitted Janaina Silva (5-1) in the first round on Tuesday. In attendance was her teammate, [autotag]Jailton Almeida[/autotag], who meets Curtis Blaydes in a UFC Fight Night main event Nov. 4 in Sao Paulo.

Ideally, Moura wants to share the card with Almeida.

“Sao Paulo, obviously,” Moura told MMA Junkie and other reporters through an interpreter. “Dana, Sean (Shelby), put me to fight in Sao Paulo, I really want to fight with that guy over there, my training partner, Jailton Almeida, who I admire so much. I love that man, and I would love to fight with him.”

Moura was very grateful to have fellow Contender Series graduate Almeida come watch her fight at the UFC Apex and heaped praise on her teammate for showing her so much support.

“I’m his fan. I just love his humility, his work ethic. I just love what he’s doing right now,” Moura said. “Everyone admires him in the gym. He’s a brother to me, he’s always around, we just love what he’s doing, and everyone in the gym loves him. He didn’t need to be here, and he’s here right now. I love this guy.”

Moura has competed at both strawweight and flyweight throughout her career, so she has her eyes on both divisions. The 29-year-old finisher didn’t make a callout for the Sao Paulo card, but has various names in mind.

“I have been looking at the names,” Moura said. “I’ve been looking at the names, I’ve been studying the division – not just strawweight, but also flyweight. Looking at the names, and I have a little notepad there with some names.”

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For more on the card, check out MMA Junkie’s event hub for Dana White’s Contender Series 58.

UFC’s Curtis Blaydes on Jailton Almeida: ‘I’m always going to be the better grappler’

Curtis Blaydes thinks he has the grappling advantage over Jailton Almeida.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Curtis Blaydes[/autotag] thinks he has the grappling advantage over [autotag]Jailton Almeida[/autotag].

Blaydes (17-4 MMA, 12-4 UFC) meets Almeida (19-2 MMA, 5-0 UFC) in a UFC Fight Night main event Nov. 4 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. In a battle of two of the strongest grapplers in the division, Blaydes sees himself prevailing in that department.

“I like the matchup, though,” Blaydes told MMA Junkie at UFC X during International Fight Week. “I do like Almeida. I think he’s going to come in and look to grapple with me, and I feel like I’m always going to be the better grappler.”

Blaydes doesn’t remember the last time someone tried to shoot on him but welcomes the challenge of Almeida’s grappling.

“It’s been a minute, and I think he’s probably going to think, ‘Oh, he hasn’t had to defend a takedown in a while so he’s going to be a little rusty.’ I’ve been wrestling since 2004. I’m not going to be rusty. My sprawls are always going to be 100 percent, and I look forward to the challenge of him trying to take me down and me being the striker in this matchup.”

Blaydes doesn’t see himself getting stopped in any grappling exchanges. All four of Blaydes’ losses have come by knockout, so he says Almeida will have to put his lights out if he wants to get his hands raised.

“If he wants to play jiu-jitsu on the bottom, that’s fine with me,” Blaydes said. “He’ll lose the rounds and I don’t believe I’m going to get caught in any slick submissions. You’re going to have to knock me out. That’s the only way you’re going to be able to beat me.”

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Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (May 29-June 4)

All the UFC and Bellator fight announcements that were first reported or confirmed by MMA Junkie in the past week.

MMA fight announcements are hard to follow. With so many outlets and channels available, it’s nearly impossible to organize.

But here at MMA Junkie, we’ve got your back.

Each week, we’ll compile all the newly surfaced fights in one spot. Every Monday, expect a feature listing everything you might have missed from the UFC or Bellator.

Here are the fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie or officially announced by a promotion from May 29-June 4.

Jailton Almeida vs. Curtis Blaydes in the works to headline UFC event in Sao Paulo

A “big” main event is being targeted as Curtis Blaydes vs. Jailton Almeida is expected to headline a UFC event in Brazil.

A UFC heavyweight bout between contenders is in the works.

[autotag]Curtis Blaydes[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Jailton Almeida[/autotag] is the promotion’s targeted main event for a UFC Fight Night event expected to take place Nov. 4 in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Two people with knowledge of the matchup recently informed MMA Junkie that verbal agreements are in place with contracts expected to be issued in the coming days. The people asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.

Blaydes (17-4 MMA, 12-4 UFC) looks to rebound from a TKO loss to Sergei Pavlovich in April. The defeat snapped a three-fight winning streak that included wins over Jairzinho Rozenstruik, Chris Daukaus, and Tom Aspinall.

Almeida (19-2 MMA, 5-0 UFC) solidified himself as a breakthrough star May 13 when he made quick work of Rozenstruik with a sub-four-minute submission victory. All five of Almeida’s UFC appearances have come inside the distance.

The UFC has not been to Sao Paulo since November 2019 when Jan Blachowicz defeated Ronaldo Souza in the UFC Fight Night 164 main event. The event marks the second time the UFC has returned to Brazil since show with no in-attendance fans in March 2020, toward the start of the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak.

No other fights have been revealed for the event at this time.

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MMA Junkie’s Submission of the Month for May: Kennedy Nzechukwu’s standing choke

With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best submission from May 2023.

With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best submissions from May 2023: Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMA Junkie’s Submission of the Month award for May.

At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting for your choice.

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Nominees

UFC on ABC 4 medical suspensions: Four fighters out indefinitely

Thirteen of the 22 competitors at UFC on ABC 4 were suspended due to injuries sustained in their bouts Saturday in Charlotte, N.C.

Four fighters are out indefinitely due to injuries sustained at UFC on ABC 4, which took place Saturday at Spectrum Center in Charlotte, N.C.

A document MMA Junkie obtained Tuesday from North Carolina Boxing and Combat Sports interim executive director Alvin Coley showed medical suspensions were handed out to 13 of the 22 competitors on the card.

[autotag]Tim Means[/autotag], [autotag]Mandy Bohm[/autotag], [autotag]Ji Yeon Kim[/autotag], and [autotag]Gabe Green[/autotag] are out indefinitely until their injuries are cleared by a physician.

The list of fighters who exited UFC on ABC 4 without a medical suspension include both headliners, [autotag]Jailton Almeida[/autotag] and [autotag]Jairzinho Rozenstruik[/autotag].

Scroll below to see the full list of UFC on ABC 4 medical suspensions. All suspended fighters are eligible to return prior to the conclusion of the durations handed out should they get cleared beforehand.