Jailton Almeida’s next opponent? – 3 options for the new heavyweight contender
Jailton Almeida dominated Derrick Lewis in the main event of UFC São Paulo. While he didn’t land as much offense as one would hope for, Almeida set the UFC heavyweight record for control time with over 21 minutes. Now we must look to the future to see what could be next for the Brazilian contender.
How much do we hate Ciryl Gane?
Ciryl Gane is a two time title challenger and former interim champion. A kickboxer at heart, Gane doesn’t seem to have a knack for grappling at the highest levels just yet. He lost his first bid for the title against Francis Ngannou when Ngannou wrestled him at the end of the fight. Then Gane lost against Jon Jones in a quick fashion after Jones got to a clinch and drug him to the ground and subbed him.
Jailton Almeida seems like a nightmarish matchup for Ciryl Gane and one that could make him look incredible. Gane is the number one contender and on a 2-2 run since 2022. Almeida may jump up from his ninth ranking after beating Lewis who was ranked 11. Gane would be a stretch but not out of the picture.
Jailton Almeida back to light heavyweight? Let’s do Ankalaev
Jailton Almeida is a cruiserweight in every sense of the word. He is a bit large for light heavyweight and a bit small for heavyweight. But he’s had success in both weights. Should Almeida want to move back down to 205 to work towards a second title run in parallel with his heavyweight run, he could make the case to be put directly into the title picture.
Magomed Ankalaev is the best bet. He is coming off another controversial fight, something he’s basically known for at this point. His last two fights were the draw to Jan Blachowicz and the no contest from an illegal knee to Johnny Walker. Ankalaev isn’t getting a title shot without a couple wins so his two ranking is moot at this point. Even if he dominates his next fight, he won’t fight the winner of this week’s Prochazka-Pereira fight. Almeida could slide in that slot and put himself right within title contention with a win.
Rebook Curtis Blaydes
The original fight for this weekend’s UFC São Paulo fight was Jailton Almeida versus Curtis Blaydes. Unfortunately, Blaydes injured his ankle and pulled out which is where Derrick Lewis stepped up for the fight.
The Blaydes matchup is intriguing because the skills between he and Almeida are very similar. Both are grapplers first and Blaydes can force Almeida to stay on the feet should he choose. Blaydes also has the skill and size to out grapple Almeida in theory.
The question with Jailton Almeida has always been: what happens if he’s forced to strike? Not many can provide that answer but Curtis Blaydes can, especially with his serviceable jab. Let’s rebook this one for early 2024 if Blaydes recovers in time.
