Jailton Almeida
Malhadinho
Brazil
Released by UFC
The UFC parted ways with Almeida on Wednesday, Nolan King of USA Today reports.
ANALYSIS
Almeida has gone 8-3 since joining the UFC in 2022, but underwhelming performances and back-to-back losses will put an end to his time in the promotion.
Almeida has gone 8-3 since joining the UFC in 2022, but underwhelming performances and back-to-back losses will put an end to his time in the promotion.
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No-shows Vegas loss
Almeida lost to Rizvan Kuniev via unanimous decision (27-30, 27-30, 28-29) at UFC Fight Night on Saturday in Las Vegas.
ANALYSIS
We have a pretty large sample that tell us Almeida will either pick up a first-round stoppage win or be part of a boring 15-minute snooze fest. This was the latter. Facing an opponent that was literally doing nothing, Almeida somehow managed to do less. He simply refuses to let his hands go for whatever reason. It's reminiscent of Uriah Hall back in the day. It could be a mental block or a lack of confidence. Either way, it has put Almeida in a big hole with respect to his chances of climbing up the rankings. To make matters worse, he also failed on all eight of his takedown attempts this evening. The UFC seems to have less patience than ever for guys with a boring style that refuse to engage their opposition. Combine that with Almeida's age (34) and back-to-back defeats, and he finds himself in a very hairy situation.
We have a pretty large sample that tell us Almeida will either pick up a first-round stoppage win or be part of a boring 15-minute snooze fest. This was the latter. Facing an opponent that was literally doing nothing, Almeida somehow managed to do less. He simply refuses to let his hands go for whatever reason. It's reminiscent of Uriah Hall back in the day. It could be a mental block or a lack of confidence. Either way, it has put Almeida in a big hole with respect to his chances of climbing up the rankings. To make matters worse, he also failed on all eight of his takedown attempts this evening. The UFC seems to have less patience than ever for guys with a boring style that refuse to engage their opposition. Combine that with Almeida's age (34) and back-to-back defeats, and he finds himself in a very hairy situation.
Steps in to face Kuniev
Almeida will take on Rizvan Kuniev in a heavyweight bout at UFC Vegas 113 on Feb. 7, per Marcel Dorff of Eurosport.nl.
ANALYSIS
Almeida is coming off just the second loss of his UFC career, a defeat at the hands of Alexander Volkov via split decision back in October of 2025. He'll now look to get back on the winning side of the Octagon against a much less experienced fighter in Kuniev, who is still looking for his first UFC win.
Almeida is coming off just the second loss of his UFC career, a defeat at the hands of Alexander Volkov via split decision back in October of 2025. He'll now look to get back on the winning side of the Octagon against a much less experienced fighter in Kuniev, who is still looking for his first UFC win.
Inactivity leads to crushing defeat
Almeida lost to Alexander Volkov via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 28-29) at UFC 321 on Saturday in Abu Dhabi.
ANALYSIS
Almeida has no one to blame for this loss but himself. It would seem to be all but impossible to drop a three-round decision in which you land 7-of-9 takedown attempts and rack up 10:47 worth of control time. But Almeida did it here, and it was the correct call. The reason it was the correct call was because Jailton landed nine significant strikes. That is not a misprint. In 10:47 worth of control time, nine significant strikes connected. He only attempted 10. You simply aren't rewarded by judges these days for laying on top of your opponent and doing nothing. Almeida's age (34), combined with his boring style and inconsistent results of late (2-2 in his past four fights) have the Brazilian in a tough spot moving forward.
Almeida has no one to blame for this loss but himself. It would seem to be all but impossible to drop a three-round decision in which you land 7-of-9 takedown attempts and rack up 10:47 worth of control time. But Almeida did it here, and it was the correct call. The reason it was the correct call was because Jailton landed nine significant strikes. That is not a misprint. In 10:47 worth of control time, nine significant strikes connected. He only attempted 10. You simply aren't rewarded by judges these days for laying on top of your opponent and doing nothing. Almeida's age (34), combined with his boring style and inconsistent results of late (2-2 in his past four fights) have the Brazilian in a tough spot moving forward.
Scheduled against Volkov
Almeida is scheduled to compete against fellow heavyweight Alexander Volkov at UFC 321 in Abu Dhabi on Oct. 25, per Guilherme Cruz of MMAFighting.com.
ANALYSIS
With an 8-1 UFC record, Almeida has a better stake to the promotion's heavyweight title than most. By going 9-1 with a win over Volkov, the Brazilian can put himself next in line for a title shot. With a recent loss to Gane, Volkov narrowly lost out on an immediate championship fight with UFC Heavyweight Champion Tom Aspinall.
With an 8-1 UFC record, Almeida has a better stake to the promotion's heavyweight title than most. By going 9-1 with a win over Volkov, the Brazilian can put himself next in line for a title shot. With a recent loss to Gane, Volkov narrowly lost out on an immediate championship fight with UFC Heavyweight Champion Tom Aspinall.
Improves to 8-1 with UFC
Almeida defeated Serghei Spivac via TKO (punches) at 4:53 of Round 1 at UFC 311 on Saturday in Los Angeles.
ANALYSIS
There was a ton of action for a fight which ended up lasting less than five minutes. Both men were credited with a successful takedown, in addition to a reversal. Yet, it was Almeida's ability late in the frame to work his way back to his feet and damage Spivac with one massive blow which ended up winning him the fight and earning him a $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus. Jailton eventually flattened Serghei out and rained down unanswered blows until referee Jason Herzog had seen enough. Almeida is now 8-1 in the UFC, with eight stoppage victories and a unanimous decision win over Derrick Lewis on his ledger. The Brazilian is closing in on a title shot in a heavyweight division that is thin up top.
There was a ton of action for a fight which ended up lasting less than five minutes. Both men were credited with a successful takedown, in addition to a reversal. Yet, it was Almeida's ability late in the frame to work his way back to his feet and damage Spivac with one massive blow which ended up winning him the fight and earning him a $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus. Jailton eventually flattened Serghei out and rained down unanswered blows until referee Jason Herzog had seen enough. Almeida is now 8-1 in the UFC, with eight stoppage victories and a unanimous decision win over Derrick Lewis on his ledger. The Brazilian is closing in on a title shot in a heavyweight division that is thin up top.