Jailton Almeida is one of the most dangerous new contenders in the UFC’s heavyweight division, and the Brazilian finisher clearly has his finger on the pulse when it comes to the big heavyweight talking points in the sport.
Chatting with Stake.com, Almeida shared his views on a range of topics, from the mooted heavyweight title bout between Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic, to opinions on some of his fellow contenders in the UFC heavyweight division.
On Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic…
“There is no question Jon Jones is going to win this fight and beat Stipe Miocic. Obviously, Jon Jones moving up to heavyweight, we haven’t seen a lot of him because his fight with Ciryl Gane didn’t last particularly long.
“Although we have a lot of questions about Jones at heavyweight, I still think he will win that fight. Miocic just has not fought regularly enough, he is trying to get back to a level we haven’t seen for two years. Therefore, I make Jon Jones the favorite for this fight.”
On Francis Ngannou’s UFC departure…
“I’m a bit frustrated at not being able to at least have the chance to face Ngannou; he was one of the biggest names in the heavyweight category so it would have meant a lot to face him.
“I think it is a bit weird for Ngannou to just forfeit his belt like this and then also leave the UFC completely. But I wish him well and I hope that he fights again for a great organization and he can fight again very soon.”
On Sergei Pavlovich’s credentials…
“No doubt, Pavlovich is one of the biggest prospects at heavyweight right now; I watched his fight with Curtis Blaydes and I think he is a very scary dude.
“Right now, at only 30 years of age, he is the biggest threat in the heavyweight division. No doubt, he will be fighting for the belt soon, but we have to see what is going to happen between Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic for that to take place. After that, Pavlovich has to be next in line for the belt.”
On facing Tom Aspinall further down the line…
“I think Tom is a great fighter; he has great striking, with wonderful grappling and great takedown defense. Unfortunate things have happened to him very recently, so I wish him a speedy recovery.
“Even though we fight in the same weight category, I cannot wish any injuries or any bad things on any opponent. I just want him to come back very soon, and then hopefully one day we can fight for the belt in the future.”
On the upcoming series of The Ultimate Fighter between Michael Chander and Conor McGregor…
“I’m really excited to see the upcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter between McGregor and Chandler. I’ve been following it across social media and I’ve seen reports of a little scuffle which I cannot wait to see play out on TV!
“McGregor being out for so long with a very bad injury may cause a bit of Octagon rust, so I am actually going to back Chandler for this one. I actually think he may stop him as well.”
On winning by rear-naked choke…
“I love grappling and rear naked choke is my favorite submission for sure, I just feel as though this will never give a chance to any opponent I lock it in against.
“The only thing an opponent can do is to tap out, this is my favorite thing to do in a fight.”
On his next test…
“After beating Jairzinho Rozenstruik, I would like to fight Tai Tuivasa or Ciryl Gane. I think that these two names could put me really close to a title shot, or at least get me within one fight of a title shot.
“I want to face someone not coming off a loss because I feel most of my previous opponents are in that situation. So if I was to fight a contender who was winning fights regularly, that would put me in contention for a title shot.”