Jailton Almeida: 'I'm Going to Be the Khabib Nurmagomedov of the 205-Pound Division'

After submitting the undefeated Nasrudin Nasrudinov on Dana White’s Contender Series to earn a UFC contract, Jailton Almeida impressed yet again with a first-round TKO of Danilo Marques in his Octagon debut on Feb. 5.

Now, the Brazilian known as “Malhadinho” is eagerly anticipating his return to action against Maxim Grishin at a UFC Fight Night event on May 21.

“I’m happy UFC gave me another tough test. Maxim has almost three times more MMA fights than I, but I´ll show on May 21 how well trained I am and shock the world again,” Almeida told Sherdog.com. “I´m going the be the Khabib Nurmagomedov of 205-pound division.”

While he admires Brazilian icons such as Anderson Silva, Jose Aldo, Mauricio Rua, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Wanderlei Silva, Almeida points to the likes of Nurmagomedov and Khamzat Chimaev as fighters that he admires most.

“I study their game a lot,” he said. “My goal is always to mix their grappling style with my jiu-jitsu submissions and ground-and-pound game.”

The son of a former professional boxer, “Malhadinho” started training when he was 6 years old. By age 11, Almeida began training in jiu-jitsu. By 2018, he was considered the best brown belt in his state (Bahia) and was awarded his black belt.

Jailton made his professional MMA debut in 2012. Over the past 10 years, he has competed in four different divisions, ranging from welterweight to heavyweight. After defeating UFC veterans Ednaldo Oliveira and Ildemar Alcantara on the regional scene, Almeida began to attract attention from larger organizations throughout the world.

"I'm addicted to training. No matter the day of the week, if there is one teammate at the headquarters of my team, Galpão da Luta, I´ll be there,” he said.

Almeida’s perspective changed for good when he cornered Carlos Felipe at UFC Fight Night 172 in Abu Dhabi in July 2020.

“When I entered the arena and felt the crowd, the lights and the sounds of the UFC, I got goose pimples and immediately said to my manager, Leo Patera, that fighting in the Octagon was my main goal,” Almeida said.

A few months later, he received a call from the promotion to face Marcin Tybura on short notice, but he was unable to accept the bout.

“Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get the visa on time,” he said. “But God had a better plan for me. I got an invitation for the Contender Series in my division and proved my value in the best way possible. I´m sure this was the first chapter of my long journey. Write it down: I came to make history in UFC.”