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.
JAILTON ALMEIDA FORCES THE TAP IN ROUND 1 🔒 #UFC302 pic.twitter.com/lQU4xyeMc4
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) June 2, 2024
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:
- Jailton Almeida def. Alexandr Romanov via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 2:27
- Grant Dawson def. Joe Solecki via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
- Jake Matthews def. Phil Rowe via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
- Bassil Hafez def. Mickey Gall via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
- Ailin Perez def. Joselyne Edwards via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
- Andre Lima def. Mitch Raposo via split decision (30-27, 28-29, 30-27)
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 302.