After three first-round finishes in as many Octagon appearances,
Jailton
Almeida figures to be a fan favorite for the Brazilian audience
at UFC
283.
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Thanks to his admiration for the Khabib
Nurmagomedov’s style and his penchant for taking down and
dominanting opponents, “Malhadinho” is now being called
“Malhadomedov” in his home country. Almedia got his “Malhadinho”
moniker because his father was a boxer known as “Malhado” during
his fighting career.
“Brazilian fans are really funny they gave a nickname to my
nickname,” Almeida told Sherdog.com. “But I’m really honored
by that. As I said before, I admire [Khamzat] Chimaev and Khabib´s
game, but I added jiu-jitsu to that. Instead of just punishing my
opponent, I always go for the submission.”
Almeida, who owns a 17-2 professional mark, isn’t resting on his
laurels. He is expecting a tough fight against UFC 283 opponent
Shamil
Abdurakhimov, who enters the bout on a three-fight losing
streak.
“He is coming off defeats to top ranked guys like [Curtis] Blaydes,
[Chris] Daukaus and [Sergei] Pavlovich,” Almeida said. “I have no
doubt it will be a tough fight. Because of that I’m training harder
than ever, because a clear win will lead me to the Top 15
ranking.”
The Bahia, Brazil, native believes his Dagestani adversary has two
key weaknesses.
“Blaydes exposed a weakness that when he is taken down, he gives up
his back, while Daukaus and Pavlovich exposed his weak chin,”
Almeida said. “The plan is to work on both earn my fourth [UFC] win
and finally reach the rankings.”
If he is victorious at UFC 283, Almeida has two potential
opponents in mind for his next Octagon appearance.
“My focus is 100% on Shamil now,” he said. “To tell you the truth,
I haven’t thought about the next step, but looking at the
heavyweight rankings, [Marcin] Tybura or Jairzinho [Rozenstruik]
would be great challenges. My goal is be a Top 5 [heavyweight]
by the end of 2023.”