Almeida continues winning streak
Jailton Almeida continued his winning streak in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) with a first-round submission of Jairzinho Rozenstruik in the heavyweight main event of a fight night at the Spectrum Centre in Charlotte, North Carolina.
The 31-year-old Brazilian has now won 14 straight matches in mixed martial arts (six in the UFC/Dana White’s Contender Series) and looks set to become a serious player in the heavyweight division, where Jon Jones is the reigning champion.
This victory was essentially flawless, with Almeida countering Rozenstruik’s awesome striking power by scoring an early takedown and slowly working his way into a position where he was able to submit ‘Bigi Boy’ with a rear-naked choke just over three and a half minutes into the first round.
Following the win, in which he did not absorb a single significant blow, Almeida explained that he wants to fight the charismatic Tai Tuivasa next.
“Of course, UFC Abu Dhabi or UFC Brazil around October,” Almeida said. “I want Tai Tuivasa. Either he comes to Brazil and feels the energy down there, or perhaps go to Abu Dhabi, where I heard he actually does his camps. So, no worries, we can do that. We’ll make the effort and go to him.”
‘Malhadinho’ also sees himself fighting for the title in 2024 if he can keep up this momentum.
“I’m taking this as a ladder full of steps, and I’m very happy to be looking into the top 10 right now and by the end of the year make it to seventh or sixth. Then next year maybe go and shoot for the title we all dream of.”
Unanimous decision
The remainder of the main card featured a unanimous decision win for Johnny Walker over Anthony Smith in the light heavyweight division, while Ian Garry finished Daniel Rodriguez via TKO in the first round of their welterweight clash.
Carlos Ulberg also made quick work of Ihor Poteria in another light heavyweight bout, and Alex Morono submitted Tim Means in a welterweight opener.
The next UFC event is a fight night at the Apex Facility on the morning of Sunday, 21 May, headlined by a women’s strawweight clash between Mackenzie Dern and Angela Hill.
The 31-year-old Brazilian has now won 14 straight matches in mixed martial arts (six in the UFC/Dana White’s Contender Series) and looks set to become a serious player in the heavyweight division, where Jon Jones is the reigning champion.
This victory was essentially flawless, with Almeida countering Rozenstruik’s awesome striking power by scoring an early takedown and slowly working his way into a position where he was able to submit ‘Bigi Boy’ with a rear-naked choke just over three and a half minutes into the first round.
Following the win, in which he did not absorb a single significant blow, Almeida explained that he wants to fight the charismatic Tai Tuivasa next.
“Of course, UFC Abu Dhabi or UFC Brazil around October,” Almeida said. “I want Tai Tuivasa. Either he comes to Brazil and feels the energy down there, or perhaps go to Abu Dhabi, where I heard he actually does his camps. So, no worries, we can do that. We’ll make the effort and go to him.”
‘Malhadinho’ also sees himself fighting for the title in 2024 if he can keep up this momentum.
“I’m taking this as a ladder full of steps, and I’m very happy to be looking into the top 10 right now and by the end of the year make it to seventh or sixth. Then next year maybe go and shoot for the title we all dream of.”
Unanimous decision
The remainder of the main card featured a unanimous decision win for Johnny Walker over Anthony Smith in the light heavyweight division, while Ian Garry finished Daniel Rodriguez via TKO in the first round of their welterweight clash.
Carlos Ulberg also made quick work of Ihor Poteria in another light heavyweight bout, and Alex Morono submitted Tim Means in a welterweight opener.
The next UFC event is a fight night at the Apex Facility on the morning of Sunday, 21 May, headlined by a women’s strawweight clash between Mackenzie Dern and Angela Hill.
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