Jailton Almeida re-signs with UFC, announces fight against Shamil Abdurkahimov
Rising UFC heavyweight contender Jailton Almeida has re-signed with the UFC and he also announced a new fight against Shamil Abdurakhimov.
Almeida (16-2) is 2-0 in the UFC, with stoppage wins over Parker Porter and Danilo Marques. The fight against Marques took place at light heavyweight, the same weight class that Almeida competed at on Dana White’s Contender Series, but the fight against Porter took place in the heavyweight division. Almeida said after the fight against Porter that he would be returning to 205lbs, but evidently, it looks like the Brazilian will continue to fight at heavyweight for now instead.
Almeida himself revealed that he has signed a new four-fight deal with the UFC and that his next Octagon appearance will come on September 10 against Abdurakhimov in a series of tweets on Tuesday night. Check out what “Malhadinho” wrote on his Twitter below.
Acabei de renovar meu contrato com o @ufc por mais 4 lutas!
.
Renewed today my contract with @ufc for 4 fights more!— Jailton Almeida “Malhadinho” (@Malhadinho_UFC) May 31, 2022
Renewed today my contract with @ufc for 4 fights more!
Minha proxima luta sera dia 10 de Setembro contra o russo Shamil Abdurakhimov 👊🏾
.
My next fight will be on the 10th of September against the Russian Shamil Abdurakhimov 👊🏾— Jailton Almeida “Malhadinho” (@Malhadinho_UFC) May 31, 2022
My next fight will be on the 10th of September against the Russian Shamil Abdurakhimov
It was fully expected that Almeida would continue to fight at 205lbs, but it looks like he will try to move up the heavyweight ladder instead. On paper, it looks like the Brazilian has received a favorable matchup against Abdurakhimov, who is the No. 12 ranked heavyweight in the UFC. When the fight takes place, Abdurakhimov will be 41 years old, compared to just 31 for Almeida at fight time.
Abdurakhimov was most recently seen losing by TKO to Chris Daukaus in his last fight. Given how much of a youth advantage that Almeida will have, not to mention how much more momentum he has right now as far as his career goes, one would expect that Almeida will be favored to win the fight, which would allow him to get a ranking in the heavyweight division and move up the ladder.
Who do you think wins this UFC heavyweight bout between Jailton Almeida and Shamil Abdurkahimov?
