It’s protected to say that Jailton Almeida has been brought back right down to Earth.
The Brazilian heavyweight has had a fall from grace in recent times, having only a number of months ago been able where some were tipping him to fight for the title.
After being handed his first UFC loss by Curtis Blaydes, Almeida bounced back with consecutive first-round finishes against Alexandr Romanov and Serghei Spivac.
With that winning streak in mind, ‘Malhadinho’ called his shot for a showdown with Tom Aspinall after Dana White announced Jon Jones’ retirement.
Almeida insisted that he had a mode that would compete against the brand new heavyweight king, but what has happened since then has definitely not backed that claim up.
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Jailton Almeida said he was ‘able to beat’ Tom Aspinall
Almeida lost to Alexander Volkov at UFC 321 last October after the judges deemed he didn’t do enough along with his control. That marked a blow to his ambitions of fighting either Aspinall or Ciryl Gane down the road.
“No one really seems to need to fight Aspinall, but I do,” Almeida said days before his loss to the Russian contender.
“I want to place on the market that I’m available. I need it. It looks as if I’m the just one that basically wants it, and is able to beat Aspinall,” he added.
He shared an analogous sentiment a number of months prior. On that occasion, he also explained the sting he would have over the heavyweight champ.
“It’s going to be an important fight because our styles are similar. He’s fast. Not surprisingly he’s the champion,” Almeida told MMA Fighting.
“What I’ve seen from Tom Aspinall is that he doesn’t fight five rounds. He’s never fought five rounds in his life. He gets drained after the second. Tom Aspinall was never tested to fight greater than three rounds. I’m doing six, seven rounds within the gym already, and I’m not even training to fight yet.
“If I fight Tom Aspinall, I’ll take him to the third round to see how he does,” he continued. “But Aspinall is not any idiot, he’s very experienced and has fought tough opponents, so I actually have to be smart and provide you with a great technique to beat him.”
Since those comments, Almeida has lost two consecutive fights and put in lackluster performances in each.
On Saturday, the 34-year-old fell short in his try and avoid a primary losing skid. Almeida lost to Rizvan Kuniev at UFC Vegas 113, pushing him farther from the division’s title.
Criticism of the Brazilian has develop into so intense after his latest setback that many are even calling for the UFC to chop Almeida from the roster.
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Jailton Almeida blamed his nationality for hate from UFC fans
Even before one other disappointing outing, Almeida had already faced backlash during UFC Vegas 113 fight week for his assessment of the defeat to Volkov last October.
Despite his low activity in that fight, ‘Malhadinho’ believes he was only criticized by fans and media because he’s Brazilian.
Ahead of his clash with Kuniev, Almeida suggested his strategy would have been received much in another way if he was from one other country.
“I see that a number of people talked about (the fight), saying they didn’t prefer it, that it was boring and all that, but they are saying that because I’m Brazilian, right?” Almeida told MMA Fighting.
“If it were a foreigner, everyone would really like it. But life goes on. Regardless of what, we move forward.
“Quite a lot of people who find themselves talking wish they were where I’m today. That’s the way it is. We’re going to get criticism and praise. That’s life, and that’s why we decide this sport.”