Jailton Almeida has built his UFC on suffocating dominance and one-way traffic, but on Saturday night at UFC Vegas 113, the Brazilian heavyweight faces a very different kind of test when he meets Russian powerhouse Rizvan Kuniev.
Almeida (22-4) enters the matchup ranked No. 6 in the heavyweight division. Complicating matters, he’s accepting the bout on short notice against the unranked Kuniev, a risky proposition that raises an obvious question: why take such a gamble with a spot near the top of the division already within reach?
“No one wanted to accept the fight. No name stepped up to actually fight Rizvan on such a short notice,” Almeida told Cageside Press among other reporters through a translator on Wednesday.
“So I just basically said I wanted to have a fight. I don’t fight scheduled. No one wanted to take this one. I want to be active. That’s it.”
“He’s good on the striking and also will take you down. We know that he’s able to do those things. He has the skills. He fought Curtis Blaydes and have a very tough fight,” he said.
When it comes to skill sets, one of the loudest criticisms of Almeida’s game has been his insistence on taking fights to the ground. At heavyweight, it’s not the most popular style with fans.
“I think needs to see the entire journey. Throughout this journey there are fights that basically I get out of the fight and I wasn’t even struck. From Contender Series on, I’m not going to let one fight define me,” he said.
“I do think that people need to be watching the fights and see my journey in the UFC has been pretty good.”
Watch the entire media day scrum with Jailton Almeida above. He faces Rizvan Kuniev at UFC Vegas 113 on Saturday night.
