UFC heavyweight Jailton Almeida will compete in MMA exhibition against athlete with Down syndrome
The UFC’s number seven ranked heavyweight, Jailton Almeida (20-2), will compete in a charity MMA event outside the promotion’s octagon.
Demo Fight, a Brazilian mixed martial arts promotion, announced earlier this week that “Malhadinho” will take on Alvaro Borges, an athlete with Down syndrome, at Demo Fight 18 in Salvador, Brazil, on Jan. 27.
The Instagram post reads, “DEMO FIGHT 18
“JAILTON X ALVARO BORGES
“We know that sport is one of the biggest weapons of social inclusion we have.
“Thinking about it, we decided to present an exhibition fight with the 2023 MMA revelation athlete Jailton Malhadinho ( UFC ) and athlete Alvaro Borges with Down Syndrome.
“We sure are going to be a great show!”
View this post on Instagram
The contest, which is classified as an MMA exhibition, is just one example of professional athletes participating in and encouraging good sportsmanship to better the community.
Almeida returns to the UFC’s octagon on March 9 when he meets Curtis Blaydes at UFC 299.
The below statistic on Down Syndrome is based on research conducted inside the United States.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately one in every 772 babies in the United States is born with Down syndrome, making Down syndrome the most common chromosomal condition. About 5,100 babies with Down syndrome are born in the United States each year.
