Athletes
Jailton Almeida Has Something To Prove
Heavyweight Jailton Almeida Enters UFC 302: Makhachev vs Poirier Calm And Strategic With His Aim On Getting Back In The Win Column
Looking for the takedown and up against the fence early in the second round, Jailton Almeida was aiming to put Curtis Blaydes on the canvas yet again. Then Blaydes connected with a flurry of hammerfists to the side of Almeida’s head that forced the Brazilian to drop to the ground and cover up. The referee stepped in and stopped the pivotal heavyweight bout from going any further.
And just like that, Almeida’s 15-fight win streak had come to a halt.
The loss to Blaydes at UFC 299 left Almeida gutted for a variety of reasons, but mainly because he felt that if he’d defeated Blaydes that night, he’d be the one facing Tom Aspinall for the interim UFC heavyweight title. But instead, it will be Blaydes fighting Aspinall at UFC 304 on July 27.
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“There was a little bit of a bitter taste left from that,” Almeida told UFC.com through a translator. “I have it because you have Tom versus Curtis right now and I think if I would have beaten him it could have been me there.”
The win also prompted all of Almeida’s doubters to voice their opinion on the Brazilian finisher. The noise from the outside didn’t get to Almeida; he just chose to use it all as motivation during his camp and he quickly signed a new fight to get back into the Octagon and hopefully the win column.
The biggest lesson he took away from the Blaydes fight was that he wasn’t calm enough to wait for the right opportunities to open. If he would have been slightly more patient, he may have had a better entry on his takedown attempt and wouldn’t have left himself exposed to Blaydes’ power. That’s the tough thing about MMA; it’s that one thing that turns into another and then, in the blink of an eye, the fight could be over.
Almeida took the Blaydes fight as a critical reminder to take his time, and he’s expecting it to pay dividends.
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“I learned a lot. It was missing, being calm and more strategic,” Almeida said. “I was very happy to be able to dominate a guy from wrestling and able to take him down and keep him on the ground. At the end of the day, it was the calm aspect that was missing from that fight.
“A loss can be something that can’t be that definitive in the UFC. The hype is [still] there and I’m still going at it and this fight is going to be proof that the hype is real. I’m going to come back stronger.”
Almeida has that chance this weekend, when he faces Alexandr Romanov at UFC 302: Makhachev vs Poirier in Newark, NJ. It’s an important fork in the road for Almeida and it’s a matchup that brings plenty of intrigue.
Romanov is a big heavyweight who is a decorated grappler that flashed plenty of danger as a submission specialist. Sound familiar?
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“A battle of styles, right?” Almeida said with a smile. “This guy comes from Greco-Roman wrestling, a guy that’s more on the grappling side, and also, I’m a finisher. This fight is going to be something that will show the people that I’m still out here.”
Getting back on track and doing so in dominant fashion against an athlete with a highly respected skill set such as Romanov’s would be the perfect way for Almeida to quiet the naysayers. Currently at No. 7, Almeida needs to defend his spot versus No. 13 Romanov if he’d like to get his name back into the title picture.
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“I think the division is going through a bit of revamping with Jon Jones coming back soon,” Almeida said. “We don’t know what’s going to happen, but the winner of Tom and Curtis will face Jon in the future. So, let’s see what happens with the division.
“I want to show people that I’m going to be fighting for the title and that’s what I want to show people on Saturday.”
UFC 302: Makhachev vs Poirier took place live from Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey on June 1, 2024. See the Final Prelim and Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses, and relive the action on UFC Fight Pass!
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