Jailton Almeida is eager for a fight in the UFC and is even open to returning to the light heavyweight division to make it happen.
Following his dominant first-round win over Serghei Spivac in January – his eighth UFC victory and second consecutive quick finish – “Malhadinho” was hoping for a top contender bout against either Ciryl Gane or Alexander Volkov.
When these fights didn`t materialize, Almeida shifted his attention to interim champion Tom Aspinall, who is also growing impatient due to the uncertainty surrounding champion Jon Jones`s future.
“It`s tough, man. It reminds me of my time fighting in Brazil,” Almeida commented, laughing during an interview. “Among the fighters ranked above me, I believe Tom Aspinall is the only one who even mentions my name. The others, Gane, Volkov, they don`t. I`m not sure what they`re thinking.”
Almeida continues training twice daily in Brazil, staying ready for any interesting opportunities that might arise on short notice. Given Volkov`s public statement that he doesn`t want to fight the Brazilian and Gane`s temporary departure for film commitments, Almeida argued that he should be the rightful next opponent for Aspinall.
“I don`t believe it`s fair for Ciryl Gane to fight Tom Aspinall,” Almeida stated. “I`m the only one coming off a significant victory. Sergei Pavlovich has already fought Tom Aspinall. Volkov has also faced him. Curtis Blaydes is booked and unavailable. Among the top contenders, I`m the one who makes sense. Plus, Ciryl Gane`s last win was essentially a poor decision. I feel it`s unjust if I`m not given the chance to compete for the belt.”
Given the congestion in the heavyweight title picture, Almeida opted to shift his attention towards Magomed Ankalaev. The Russian fighter recently became champion by defeating Alex Pereira in March and posted on June 28, stating that “all the guys turned me down and international fight week,” questioning if “anyone in the light heavyweight division who’s willing to fight me?”
Almeida, who began his UFC journey at light heavyweight before moving up, quickly volunteered to be the first to challenge the newly crowned champion.
“I`m ready for it,” said Almeida, also criticizing Ankalaev`s approach. “His nerve… I`m not taking anything away from him, he is the current champion, but you need proper preparation time for a title defense. He knows `Poatan` isn`t intensely training right now, only recently returning to the gym. Jiri [Prochazka] mentioned he`s currently studying, and [Ankalaev] seems to be seeking attention. He`s acting like, `I`m the champion, I`ll stir things up.` So I thought, since there are no fights for me at heavyweight, I`m willing to make the weight cut – assuming he agrees, of course – and make this fight a reality.”
Almeida mentioned he currently weighs 240 pounds but noted that the “sacrifice” of cutting down to light heavyweight would be more manageable than before due to a higher body fat percentage. “Malhadinho,” who was previously asked by Pereira to help him train for Ankalaev but was unable due to injury, is now eager to step into the octagon himself to face the champion.
“If he makes the mistake of ending up on his back against me, he won`t be getting back up,” Almeida stated confidently about Ankalaev. “I`m a finisher, whether by knockout or submission.”
Marcus Blakely