One of the UFC‘s top heavyweight contenders is flirting with the idea of moving down to light heavyweight. Jailton Almeida (22-3) has fought at 205 and heavyweight during his run inside the octagon, but he’s been focused on the heavyweight division since May 2022.
Almeida earned a UFC contract on The Contender Series back in 2021 at light heavyweight with a second round submission. Almeida then made his octagon debut at light heavyweight with a first round submission in February 2022. In both of those fights, Almeida weighed under the light heavyweight limit at 203 pounds. He can make the weight with ease.
However, after that first fight, he’s been focused on heavyweight. The only time he moved down in weight was when he took on Anton Turkalj at a catchweight of 220 pounds where he weighed 216. While it was considered a catchweight fight, it took place essentially at heavyweight. In the heavyweight division, Almeida has gone 7-1 with the lone loss coming against Curtis Blaydes at UFC 299 in March 2024. Since that loss, he’s scored two straight first round finishes.
UFC’s Heavyweight or Light Heavyweight Division
The heavyweight division is in a weird spot right now. Almeida is currently ranked sixth in the division but he’s struggled to get anyone to fight him. He told MMA Fighting that the only top contender who mentions his name is interim champion Tom Aspinall. Other than that, he cannot find any contenders that are willing to fight him.
Aspinall is currently waiting to find out whether him and Jon Jones are fighting for the undisputed title later this year. While unconfirmed, the rumor is that Aspinall would likely fight Ciryl Gane for the undisputed UFC title should Jon Jones decide that he’s not interested in fighting Aspinall later this year.
With that, you have Alexander Volkov, Sergei Pavlovich, and Curtis Blaydes all ranked ahead of Almeida. Blaydes is has a fight next month. Volkov and Pavlovich both would make all the sense in the world for Almeida, but Almeida mentioned that neither seem interested in fighting him. With that in mind, Almeida told MMA Fighting that he’s more than willing to cut to 205 and fight champion Magomed Ankalaev.
The UFC’s plan has been to have Ankalaev rematch with Alex Pereira, but they’ve had a hard time nailing down that fight. Jiri Prochazka is right there as well in terms of options for the next title fight, but Almeida adds a really interesting wrinkle to the situation. Almeida is a force at heavyweight and we know that he can make 205 easily. If he decided to move back down, he could be the favorite to capture light heavyweight gold.
If the promotion doesn’t get him a fight soon at heavyweight, I would honestly suggest that he asks them for a fight against a top contender at 205. He’s in this unique spot where he can easily compete with the best in both divisions without being at a disadvantage. Wherever the best opportunity exists, I think he should go with that.
