WATCH: Down syndrome athlete defeats UFC heavyweight Jailton Almeida in wholesome matchup 

Jailton Almeida happily loses to Alvaro Borges, a down syndrome fighter in Demo Fight 18.

WATCH: Down syndrome athlete defeats UFC heavyweight Jailton Almeida in wholesome matchup 

Jailton Almeida losses his exhibition bout to Alvaro Borges, a down syndrome fighter. (via X)

Jailton Almeida has an upcoming bout in the UFC against Curtis Blaydes at UFC 299. However, before the fight, he accepted another one for a different organization. It was a charity event hosted by Demo Fights. In the event, ‘Malhadinho’ went against Alvaro Borges, a Down Syndrome fighter. As such, the event ended successfully, with Alvaro Borges winning.

The event had proper walkouts, with everything set up like an actual fight. However, inside the cage, Jailton Almeida playfully fought Alvaro Borges and lost intentionally to make Borges’ dream a reality. During the fight, Borges showcased various skills, from standup to grappling, despite his disability. As such, Borges defeated ‘Malhadinho’ and even earned a special belt wrapped around his waist.

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Although suffering from Down Syndrome, Alvaro Borges wanted to partake in an MMA fight. As such, his dream came true when Brazilian MMA promotion Demo Fight organized an exhibition bout for him last year. Now, once again, the promotion booked a charity fight for Borges. This time, against the rising UFC heavyweight Jailton Almeida. As such, the BJJ black belt happily accepted the event and even happily lost to Borges.

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Both Jailton Almeida and Alvaro Borges displayed great sportsmanship and enjoyed their part in the charity event. As for Almeida’s competitive career, he is to fight Curtis Blaydes in UFC 298. He is coming off a dominant win over Derrick Lewis at UFC Sao Paulo.

Jailton Almeida speaks about his performance against Derrick Lewis

Jailton Almeida fought Derrick Lewis in a short-notice bout after his originally scheduled opponent, Curtis Blaydes, withdrew from the fight. Many fans were excited to see ‘The Black Beast’ in action. However, the fight didn’t play out as fans expected. ‘Malhadinho’ took Lewis down round after round and controlled him on the ground. As such, he won a dominant victory on the judges’ scorecards.

Jailton Almeida and Derrick Lewis in the main event of UFC Sao Paulo
Jailton Almeida and Derrick Lewis in the main event of UFC Sao Paulo (via Instagram/UFC)

This performance received huge criticism from the MMA community. However, Almeida spoke positively about his performance during his conversation with ESPN+. Here is what Malhadinho said about his performance:

The strategy was to control him on grappling. But he’s very strong, and his hand is twice as big as mine. My forearm is quite thin, and he was able to grab ahold my forearm and really control the blows that I was trying to give out... I was happy with my performance
Jailton Almeida (via ESPN+)

Jailton Almeida, with this win, extended his undefeated streak in the UFC to seven. As such, he looked to fight for the title soon. So, he called out the #1 ranked Ciryl Gane in his octagon interview. However, currently, the UFC rebooked him with Curtis Blaydes for UFC 299. As such, he looked forward to winning the fight and looking for title contention.

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