Jailton Almeida tore through the ranks of heavyweight and looked like a sure thing to challenge for the throne one day. Now, he stares across from his most pivotal fight against Alexandr Romanov after two straight lackluster performances in which he had his first decision win and first UFC loss respectively.
Almeida faced off against Curtis Blaydes who knocked him out in the second round after Almeida tried to power through a takedown with poor form. He got hurt by Blaydes’ uppercut and tried to hang onto his legs to finish the takedown while Blaydes crushed him with heavy punches. Almeida crumpled to the ground, and temporarily with it were his title run hopes. Now he aims to get back on the horse and make a statement in one of the most confusing divisions in the sport.
Jailton Almeida Grappling His Way up the Ranks
The Brazillian heavyweight seemed to be hitting his peak quickly after establishing himself as one of the promotion’s hottest prospects in a division in need of new blood. He actually came into the UFC at 205 pounds, but his tenure there did not last long. After his second-round finish of Nasrudin Nasrudinov in a grappling-heavy affair where both men landed nine strikes total. His first bout in the UFC continued the theme, as he smothered Danilo Marques and prevented him from landing a single significant strike in Marques’ last bout in the promotion.
His first fight at heavyweight against Parker Porter was even more impressive. Almeida immediately shot for a takedown and landed the heavy double leg after a short feeling-out period, being that this was his first at 265 pounds. He went to work early in the fight, landing heavy strikes straight from the top and elbows that forced Porter to chase a guillotine for position and eventually give up his back. It did not take long for Almeida to sink the choke in and score his first UFC submission win.
Almeida’s first performance bonus was another classic performance, this time at a catchweight of 220 pounds. He took on Anton Turkalj at UFC 279 and immediately smothered him with takedowns and top pressure from the first bell. “Malhadino” eventually worked his way towards Turkalj’s back and landed the choke. He had less than thirty seconds left in the round, another buzzer-beater submission.
Jumping into the Rankings
After that, he began to rain down heavy shots on his opponents throughout his next few fights. He picked up another earth-shattering win over then-ranked Shamil Abdurakhimov by taking him down only twice in the fight. This came as he only needed two takedowns: Abdurakhimov failed to get up from either and was seriously damaged as Jailton Almeida showcased his incredible grappling for his size.
Almeida grappled circles around Abdurakhimov, passing to his back in the first round and fighting for a submission. Eventually, he took down Abdurakhimov again and pounded away, getting to the back. Unanswered shots put Abdurakhimov away, but more because of how dominant Almeida was on the ground: he wore his opponent out and they were too tired to defend.
His next performance in Charlotte was nothing short of spectacular. The Brazilian dispatched Jarziniho Rozenstruik in the first round in a completely dominant fashion, powering through a first failed takedown attempt into a second double leg. He prevented Rozenstruik from making any significant moves on the ground and hammered away from mount after jumping the guard.
He forced Rozenstruik to turn to his back, and the fight was all but over from there. Almeida succeeded by way of rear-naked choke in the very first round, sending a Charlotte crowd home with a new heavyweight contender.
Almeida’s style got him in a lot of trouble in his next fight, as Curtis Blaydes took advantage of his unwillingness to let go of the takedown and hammered away. This ended the highly-anticipated fight the same way Almeida won most of his fights: with Almeida grasping for Blaydes’ legs.Although Jailton Almeida suffered a major setback after his last fight, he can restart his run this weekend.
Keys to Success for Almeida
Jailton Almeida remains one of the most talented challengers at heavyweight, essentially a different sport from the lower weight classes. That said, Almeida grapples at a terrifying pace and has great cardio coming from 205 pounds. The key to a long run at heavyweight is self-awareness and catering to one’s own style, as there is much less mobility and variability at this weight.
His opponent Alexandr Romanov is a Romanian with extremely strong grappling skills and an affinity for head-and-arm chokes, even from the bottom. This could prove to be dangerous for Almeida, so he has to watch his neck as he goes through transitions towards his preferred mount position. In addition, Almeida has to use heavy ground strikes as a form of defense against submissions, as it is hard to obtain a valuable position while getting punched.
Almeida must use both men’s weight to his advantage. Being that heavyweights are so large, ground mobility is at a minimum, and so it gives him the opportunity to land heavy ground strikes. In turn, this enables him to chase submissions when the time is right.
Don’t Overcommit on the Ground
However, Jailton Almeida must be wary of being overzealous on the ground, as Romanov is a great grappler in his own right. This means that he needs to dictate the pace and fight smart. A major criticism of Almeida’s game is that he does not know when to let go of a takedown, and this directly caused the Curtis Blaydes loss. in those exchanges, it is important to remember that he needs to live to fight another day and pick and choose his moments to chase shots.
He must weaponize his cardio as much as he can at heavyweight, as Romanov is in nearly the worst shape in the entire UFC. Throughout his career, Romanov gassed out several times and has allowed this deficiency to severely handicap his ceiling at 265 pounds. If Almeida wants, he can stick to the feet for at least a round and push the activity so that Romanov tires out and then get his way on the ground later on.
Regardless of what he does, Almeida has to know that the UFC brass is not happy with his grappling-heavy style. As of Thursday, they bumped this fight down to the prelims of UFC 302 in favor of Alex Morono-Niko Price. All this does is puts more pressure on Almeida to perform, possibly even on the feet.
If he can secure a win here, his next fight would likely be against a top five opponent. Two more wins after that, Almeida may even fight for a world title. For the Brazillian “Malhadino”, the sky is the limit.
Featured Image Credits to Embed from Getty Images
