Thomas Almeida – Page 2 – Syndication Server

UFC on ESPN+ 38 predictions: Is it Brian Ortega or ‘Korean Zombie’ on Fight Island?

Check out our staff members’ predictions for the UFC on ESPN+ 38 main card in Abu Dhabi.

	Ortega vs. Jung	Andrade vs. Chookagian	Bukauskas vs. Crute	Almeida vs. Martinez
MMA Junkie readers’ consensus picks 2020: 121-77	Jung (69%)	Andrade (64%)	Crute (78%)	Almeida (80%)
Dan Tom @DanTomMMA 2020: 131-67	Jung	Andrade	Crute	Martinez
Nolan King @mma_kings 2020: 131-67	Jung	Andrade	Bukauskas	Almeida
Farah Hannoun @Farah_Hannoun 2020: 130-68	Ortega	Andrade	Bukauskas	Almeida
Danny Segura @dannyseguratv 2020: 129-69	Jung	Andrade	Crute	Almeida
Dave Doyle @davedoylemma 2020: 128-70	Ortega	Andrade	Bukauskas	Almeida
Mike Bohn @MikeBohnMMA 2020: 127-71 2014 Champion	Jung	Chookagian	Crute	Almeida
Brian Garcia @thegoze 2020: 127-71 2017 Champion	Jung	Andrade	Crute	Martinez
Simon Head @simonhead 2020: 126-72 2019 Champion*	Jung	Andrade	Bukauskas	Almeida
Simon Samano @SJSamano 2020: 125-73	Jung	Andrade	Crute	Almeida
George Garcia @MMAjunkieGeorge 2020: 122-76	Ortega	Andrade	Bukauskas	Almeida
Ken Hathaway @kenshathaway 2020: 122-76 2018 Champion	Ortega	Chookagian	Crute	Almeida
John Morgan @MMAjunkieJohn 2020: 119-79	Ortega	Andrade	Crute	Martinez
Abbey Subhan @kammakaze 2020: 118-80	Jung	Andrade	Crute	Almeida
Matt Erickson @MMAjunkieMatt 2020: 80-118	Ortega	Chookagian	Bukauskas	Martinez

(Note: The main card fight between James Krause and Claudio Silva was added too late for our picks deadline.)

The UFC stays at its “Fight Island” home away from home this week with a long-awaited featherweight matchup at the top of the card.

UFC on ESPN+ 38 takes place Saturday at Flash Forum at Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. The card streams on ESPN+.

(Click here to open a PDF of the staff picks grid in a separate window.)

In the main event, [autotag]Brian Ortega[/autotag] (14-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) takes on “The Korean Zombie,” [autotag]Chan Sung Jung[/autotag] (16-5 MMA, 6-2 UFC), in a matchup between former featherweight title challengers. Jungn is a 2-1 favorite in the fight, but it’s a close fight in the picks from our 14 editors, writers, videographers and radio hosts. They’re taking Jung, but just at an 8-6 clip.

In the co-feature, former strawweight champion [autotag]Jessica Andrade[/autotag] (20-8 MMA, 11-6 UFC) takes on recent women’s flyweight title challenger [autotag]Katlyn Chookagian[/autotag] (14-3 MMA, 7-3 UFC) in a bout at 125 pounds. Andrade is the mild favorite, and she’s got a big 11-3 picks lead.

Also on the main card, [autotag]Modestas Bukauskas[/autotag] (11-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC) meets [autotag]Jimmy Crute[/autotag] (11-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) in a light heavyweight bout. Crute is the biggest favorite on the main card, but he’s only got an 8-6 picks lead.

And to open the main card, [autotag]Thomas Almeida[/autotag] (22-3 MMA, 5-3 UFC) fights [autotag]Jonathan Martinez[/autotag] (12-3 MMA, 3-2 UFC) at bantamweight. Almeida is returning from a lengthy layoff and is a slight favorite at the sports books. He’s also got a 10-4 lead from our pickers.

In the MMA Junkie reader consensus picks, Jung (69 percent), Andrade (64 percent), Crute (78 percent) and Almeida (80 percent) are the choices.

Check out all the picks above.

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With Alejandro Perez out, Thomas Almeida now faces Jonathan Martinez at UFC on ESPN+ 38

Thomas Almeida will still get to compete on “Fight Island,” but a week later against Jonathan Martinez on Oct. 17.

[autotag]Thomas Almeida[/autotag] will still get to compete on “Fight Island,” but it will be one week later than originally expected.

[autotag]Alejandro Perez[/autotag] has been forced out of the UFC’s Oct. 10 event due to a positive COVID-19 test and [autotag]Jonathan Martinez[/autotag] (12-3 MMA, 3-2 UFC) will now step in to face Almeida (21-3 MMA, 5-3 UFC) one week later at UFC on ESPN+ 38, which takes place at Yas Island in Abu Dhabi.

Multiple people with knowledge of the situation recently informed MMA Junkie of the booking but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.

Almeida hasn’t fought since his second-round stoppage loss to Rob Font in January 2018 and returns after an almost three-year long layoff due to an eye injury that required surgery. The long-hyped prospect has earned a bonus in all five of his UFC wins.

Winner of his past three of four, Factory X’s Martinez is coming off a third-round finish of Frankie Saenz at UFC on ESPN+ 31 in August.

With the addition, the UFC on ESPN+ 38 lineup includes:

Brian Ortega vs. Chan Sung Jung
Ante Delija vs. Ciryl Gane
Jessica Andrade vs. Katlyn Chookagian
Modestas Bukauskas vs. Jimmy Crute
Thomas Almeida vs. Jonathan Martinez
Krzysztof Jotko vs. Makhmud Muradov
David Zawada vs. opponent TBA
Mateusz Gamrot vs. Guram Kutateladze
Poliana Botelho vs. Gillian Robertson
James Krause vs. Claudio Silva
Jun Yong Park vs. John Phillips
Jamie Mullarkey vs. Fares Ziam
Gadzhimurad Antigulov vs. Maxim Grishin
Said Nurmagomedov vs. Mark Striegl

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Alejandro Perez out of Thomas Almeida fight at UFC on ESPN+ 37

Thomas Almeida needs a new opponent for his long-awaited return to the octagon at UFC on ESPN+ 37.

[autotag]Thomas Almeida[/autotag] needs a new opponent for his long-awaited return to the octagon this month at UFC on ESPN+ 37.

[autotag]Alejandro Perez[/autotag] (21-8-1 MMA, 7-3-1 UFC), who was scheduled to face Almeida (21-3 MMA, 5-3 UFC) in a bantamweight bout on the Oct. 10 card, which takes place at Flash Forum at Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, has been forced out due to a reported positive coronavirus test.

MMA Junkie verified news of Perez’s removal from the matchup with a person close to the situation following an initial report from Milenio.com.

The promotion now seeks a new opponent for Almeida, who hasn’t competed since a TKO loss to Rob Font at UFC 220 in January 2018. The Brazilian, who was once unbeaten at 20-0, hasn’t won since November 2016.

The latest UFC on ESPN+ 37 lineup now includes:

Marlon Moraes vs. Cory Sandhagen
Edson Barboza vs. Makwan Amirkhani
Ben Rothwell vs. Marcin Tybura
Dricus Du Plessis vs. Markus Perez
Tom Aspinall vs. Alan Baudot
Thomas Almeida vs. opponent TBA
Ilia Topuria vs. Youssef Zalal
K.B. Bhullar vs. Tom Breese
Chris Daukaus vs. Rodrigo Nascimento
Joaquin Buckley vs. Impa Kasanganay
Ali Alqaisi vs. Tony Kelley
Giga Chikadze vs. Omar Morales
Tracy Cortez vs. Stephanie Egger
Bruno Silva vs. Tagir Ulanbekov

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Thomas Almeida on changes made ahead of Alejandro Perez fight

Thomas Almeida returns vs. Alejandro Perez on UFC’s Oct. 10 event

Thomas Almeida returns after a nearly three-year layoff to face Alejandro Perez at the UFC’s Oct. 10 event.

[autotag]Thomas Almeida[/autotag] is back.

Almeida (21-3 MMA, 5-3 UFC) will return after an almost three-year long layoff when he faces [autotag]Alejandro Perez[/autotag] (21-8-1 MMA, 7-3-1 UFC) at the UFC’s Oct. 10 event, which is expected to take place at Yas Island in Abu Dhabi and will either air on ESPN or stream on ESPN+, though nothing has been officially announced.

MMA Junkie verified the booking with multiple people close to the situation following an initial report from Milenio.com.

Almeida hasn’t fought since his second-round stoppage loss to Rob Font in January 2018. He has since been sidelined due to an eye injury that required surgery and was finally cleared for full-contact training in December 2019.

The formerly unbeaten prospect has lost three of his past four, but has earned a bonus in all five of his UFC wins. He was briefly linked to a bout with Cory Sandhagen in January 2019, then slated to face Marlon Vera at UFC 235, but was forced out of both matchups.

After notching six straight wins, “The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America” winner Perez has dropped two straight for the first time in his career, suffering losses to Cody Stamann and most recently Song Yadong in July 2019.

With the addition, the current Oct. 10 lineup includes:

Marlon Moraes vs. Cory Sandhagen
Edson Barboza vs. Sodiq Yusuff
Markus Perez vs. Rodolfo Vieira
Seungwoo Choi vs. Youssef Zalal
Ben Rothwell vs. Marcin Tybura
Thomas Almeida vs. Alejandro Perez

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UFC 250 free fight: Cody Garbrandt bounces Thomas Almeida from ranks of unbeaten

Ahead of his return to action at UFC 250, recap Cody Garbrandt’s impressive display against Thomas Almeida from UFC Fight Night 88.

In a matchup between two undefeated bantamweight prospects, betting underdog [autotag]Cody Garbrandt[/autotag] prevailed to push himself one step closer to UFC gold.

In May 2016, Garbrandt (11-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC) faced [autotag]Thomas Almeida[/autotag] in the main event of UFC Fight Night 88 looking to emerge as a contender in the 135-pound division.

With both men having only gone the distance once each in their respective careers, a finish seemed inevitable, and Garbrandt started out fast in a bid to make sure he ended up on the right side of the stoppage. “No Love” was the aggressor early as he opened up with a few kicks before charging forward with a rapid-fire combination.

Garbrandt continued to show off his hand speed while Almeida looked to catch the American as he blitzed in, but Garbrandt’s movement helped keep him out of danger from the Brazilian’s counters. Then, two minutes into Round 1, Garbrandt stunned Almeida with a left hook as he made the first big breakthrough of the fight.

Almeida returned fire, but Garbrandt answered with a perfectly-placed right hand that dropped the Brazilian, and the fight was stopped moments later to give the Team Alpha Male athlete a statement victory.

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Garbrandt subsequently went on to knock Takeya Mizugaki out in just 48 seconds to earn a title shot against then UFC bantamweight champion, Dominick Cruz.

Garbrandt took his chance as he produced a masterclass of footwork and movement to drop and hurt Cruz on multiple occasions en route to a five-round decision win as he captured the title to become one of the UFC’s newest stars.

However, Garbrandt was unable to capitalize on his title win as he lost his next three fights – twice to T.J. Dillashaw then, in his most recent outing, to Pedro Munhoz. Garbrandt returns to action at UFC 250, where he will look to snap his losing streak against perennial contender Raphael Assuncao in the night’s co-main event.

UFC 250 takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on UFC Fight Pass/ESPN+.

Before he faces Assuncao, relive Garbrandt’s knockout over Almeida in the video above.

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Thomas Almeida wants hometown return at UFC 250 but thinks he’ll likely have to wait

Thomas Almeida was hoping to make his comeback at UFC 250 in Sao Paulo, but he may have to wait.

[autotag]Thomas Almeida[/autotag] was hoping to make his comeback at home, but he might have to wait.

Almeida (21-3 MMA, 5-3 UFC), who’s been sidelined due to an eye injury, was recently cleared for full-contact training and was targeting the UFC 250 card in his hometown of Sao Paulo before the coronavirus outbreak hit.

With the UFC postponing three events and scrambling to make UFC 249 happen due to global travel bans, the May 9 card in Sao Paulo may be in jeopardy, too.

“I’m 100 percent – I’m feeling great and I’m back in full training since December 2019,” Almeida told MMA Junkie. “(I’m) sparring once a week and everything – ready to go.

“May 9 is what I want, and me and my manager have been talking to (matchmaker) Sean Shelby and the UFC every week, and I know they are looking for a fight for me. Unfortunately for this virus situation, we don’t know what is going to happen. (The) only thing I know, UFC is working hard to find a way to solve this whole situation. We have to wait a little bit longer. No problem at all.”

The once undefeated prospect hasn’t competed since January 2018. After a 4-0 start to his UFC tenure, Almeida has lost three of his past four. But his biggest battle was an eye injury he suffered that has kept him out of action.

He was briefly linked to a bout with Cory Sandhagen in January 2019, then slated to face Marlon Vera at UFC 235 about a year ago, but was forced out of both.

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“(There were) no easy times, especially the first few months. But ups and downs are part of athletes’ life, and being healthy is the most important thing,” Almeida said. “But we have to overcome difficult situations with the mind of a champion, be patient and trust the process, and that’s what I learned as a martial artist, and that’s what I put into practice in my personal life. And the beauty of it all is that I have room for improvement, and I’m still 28 with a huge will power. I can’t wait for my comeback.”

The Chute Boxe Diego Lima product has been getting new looks in the past year, spending a lot of time training at Xtreme Couture and the UFC Performance Institute. Never shying away from a fight, the performance bonus machine is open to facing any top-tier bantamweight.

“I have no specific name – I’ll fight anyone,” Almeida said. “(Sean) O’Malley just got back. John Dodson has no fight yet. Alejandro Perez would be a great fight, too. The kid from the U.K., Nathaniel Wood, said he wants to fight me years ago on the Internet – let’s go. Let’s see want UFC has for me.”

Currently in Las Vegas, Almeida is doing everything he can to stay in shape during the global pandemic as he edges closer to a return.

“Everything is lockdown right now – all businesses are closed, and we must stay home. This is a big move to stop this epidemic,” Almeida said. “It changes completely my schedule – no gym, no training partners. I’ve been training at home, running alone, shadow boxing. I’ve got some weights and rubber bands at home that’s helping me a lot to stay busy. (It’s) only difficult to keep my diet clear. I love ice cream, and it’s hard to keep me out of it full time at home.”