UFC heavyweight contender Jailton Almeida was on the cusp of a potential title shot after winning his first six fights in the promotion. But after a streaky start to his UFC tenure, Almeida has now lost three of his last five fights, including most recently against Rizvan Kuniev at UFC Vegas 113 last Saturday.
Almeida lost to Kuniev by unanimous decision in a short-notice booking at the Meta Apex last weekend. The talented grappler couldn’t do much damage to Kuniev in three rounds as he dropped another lopsided fight on the judges’ scorecards.
It was a disappointing setback for Almeida after replacing Ryan Spann, who withdrew due to injury, on short notice at UFC Vegas 113. The fight marked Almeida’s return to the Octagon following a split-decision loss to Alexander Volkov at UFC 321 in October.
After competing in heavyweight and light heavyweight fights early in his UFC career, Almeida has primarily competed at heavyweight in recent years. But after UFC Vegas 113, Almeida is returning to his roots.
Jailton Almeida’s team is planning big changes after its latest setback at UFC Vegas 113
After a fall at UFC Vegas 113, Almeida and his team have decided that the talented Brazilian will make the full-time move up to light heavyweight. Almeida’s decision was first reported by Connect cast and later confirmed by MMA fighting.
Almeida’s last light heavyweight fight came against Daino Marques in February 2022, winning his promotional debut via first-round TKO. He moved up to heavyweight and scored victories over Parker Porter, Shamil Abdurakhimov and Jairzinho Rozenstruik.
Almeida’s recent defeats to Alexander Volkov, Curtis Blaydes and Kuniev have put his heavyweight title hopes on hold indefinitely. A move to light heavyweight could be enough to get Almeida back on track in the cage.
Will Jailton Almeida challenge for a UFC light heavyweight title? Let us know your predictions in the comments!
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