Uncasville, CT — Brazil’s Weber Almeida has been training with the likes of the Machida brothers. And the results are clearly showing. Almeida improved to 4-0 at Bellator 244 on Friday, and bowed down to his mentors post-fight.
“The Silverback” now has three straight wins in the Bellator cage. All his wins as a pro have been finishes. Almeida’s yet to even come close to the second round.
“It was an amazing fight. This guy was a really good challenge for me, to [take] one more step up in my career,” Almeida told media outlets including Cageside Press following his win on Friday.
“I’m really happy, I’m really excited right now. I’m usually this way, but now I’m even more [so],” he stated.
Almeida brings a lot of passion with him into the cage. He’s not just fighting for himself. “When I fight, it’s not only me. It’s the people I represent, the city I represent,” he explained. “Now I live in California. People live there, my friends, they are my family right now. Machida family, thank you so much for supporting me.”
The bout this weekend against Salim Mukhidinov, which ended in a knockout win for Machida, came at a catchweight. The goal for Almeida, however, is to get back to bantamweight. “Maybe I can fight at 135 for the next one,” he said. “I’m working hard to get there.”
As far as a quick turnaround, “If they send me an opportunity, I’m ready. Let’s go, let’s do it.”
In the meantime, Almeida has tried his hand at acting recently, taking on a small role as a coach in an upcoming production. “It’s going to be on Amazon Prime. It’s called Resurgence.” So has the acting bug bit him? A number of fighters, from Max Holloway to Andre Fili to, of course, Randy Couture, have dabbled in on screen roles.
“Let me get my belt, and then I will do more,” said Almeida.
Watch the full Bellator 244 post-fight press conference with Weber Almeida above.
