UFC heavyweight Jailton Almeida to take on ‘down syndrome’ man in MMA fight held in Brazil

Rising heavyweight Jailton Almeida squares off with Alvero Borges at Demo Fight 18.

UFC heavyweight Jailton Almeida to take on ‘down syndrome’ man in MMA fight held in Brazil

Before facing Curtis Blaydes at UFC 299, Jailton Almeida fights at Demo Fight 18 (Source: Twitter/UFC.com)

Heavyweight contenders Jailton Almeida and Curtis Blaydes will meet at UFC 299 on March 9th. Almeida and Blaydes were to lock horns in November last year. But incurring an injury, Blaydes had to withdraw. After his latest win, the 20-2 (6-0 UFC) Brazilian Orthodox is in high spirits. Very recently, the jovial Almeida even called dibs on MSG seats for a heavyweight title fight after his win.

With Blaydes out, Almeida, however, pacified the replacement Derrick Lewis instead. Before rehashing it out with the 17-4 wrestler Blaydes though, he has other matters to attend to. “Malhadinho” will face Down’s Syndrome athlete Alvaro Borges in an MMA exhibition at the upcoming Demo Fight 18 show in Salvador, Brazil on Jan. 27. Here’s what he said on the matter:

I’m very happy to be part of this event and help Alvaro’s dream come true of fighting MMA again...
Jailton Almeida on fighting Borges as per MMA Fighting
YouTube video

Borges is a regular competitor in special jiu-jitsu tournaments in and around Brazil. Additionally, he’s stepped into the cage before for a charity MMA fight under the Demo Fight banner. Despite not winning fans over in his Sao Paulo outing against Lewis, Almeida is geared on to even lose this matchup, as long as it serves its purpose.

FS Video

Almeida shares his passion for the sport along with Demo Fight promoter Demistocles Brito. Brito booked the fight card lineup inspired by his autistic nephew. Speaking to MMA Fighting, he urged that the goal was to “promote inclusion” in the sport.

Jailton Almeida awarded MMA Junkie’s 2023 Breakout Fighter of the Year

Jailton Almeida is the most weighty and solemn 265lber now. With a 3-0 statistic for 2023, his streak has been good enough to earn a new accolade. Almeida is MMA Junkie’s 2023 Breakout Fighter of the Year. Two of these, have been in the way of finishes (TKO and submission).

Jailton Almeida is MMA Junkie's 2023 Breakout Fighter of the Year
Jailton Almeida is MMA Junkie’s 2023 Breakout Fighter of the Year (Source: IMAGO)

Almeida kicked off 2023 with Shamil Abdurakhimov. He defeated the Dagestani with a second-round TKO at UFC 283. After the drawn-out victory and a subsequent performance bonus, he faced Jairzinho Rozenstruik in May.

Winning his first UFC Fight Night headlining event, Almeida was to square off with Curtis Blaydes. But with the latter injured, he faced short-notice replacement Derrick Lewis instead. If not for the jam-pack of Jon Jones‘ injury, The Dana White’s Contender Series graduate would have well earned a spot at title contention by now. Almeida faces Blaydes at UFC 299 yet again.

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