Heavyweight contender Jailton Almeida has an important contest awaiting him at UFC 302 this Saturday night.
On the preliminary card of the upcoming pay-per-view event, set for the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, Almeida is tasked with defending his position in the rankings against Alexandr Romanov.
"Malhadinho" is in need of regaining some of the hype he entered 2024 with as a fighter yet to taste defeat inside the UFC Octagon. Those who touted the Brazilian for championship success at heavyweight had to hold their horses after Curtis Blaydes hammer-fisted his way to a TKO win at UFC 299 this past March.
Having escaped relatively unscathed, Almeida pursued a quick turnaround so that he can go someway to righting the wrongs from his unsuccessful outing in Miami. He gets the chance on June 1 when he shares a lineup with some major names again.
Among them is lightweight kingpin Islam Makhachev, who will have the great Khabib Nurmagomedov back in his corner for the UFC 302 main event. And it seems "The Eagle's" presence in "Brick City" has benefitted Almeida...
Almeida 'Absorbed' Tips From Khabib Ahead Of UFC 302
During his appearance at UFC 302 media day on Wednesday, Almeida looked ahead to his upcoming assignment and briefly turned his attention to the man around whom the card was built.
After noting his positive thoughts on both Makhachev and his team, the Brazilian heavyweight revealed he crossed paths with and received some advice from the champ's mentor, Khabib.
I’ve always been a big fan of Makhachev. As everyone knows, I’m a fan of that school. I’m a fan of that style," Almeida said. "I’m a huge Khabib fan. I crossed paths with him doing some training and I really got emotional about it. (He's) just somebody I’ve always admired.
I actually found out that he watched my fights and had some comments on my fight. So, I was just there absorbing all the tips, and the fact that he actually watched my fights, and I’ve watched him train as well, so I saw some things," Almeida added
Almeida has been criticized in recent times for his grappling approach, most notably following a lackluster five-round contest with Derrick Lewis last November. During it, "Malhadinho" amassed heavy control time but neither inflicted heavy damage on "The Black Beast" nor attempted submissions.
Given that Khabib thrived in that regard on the ground, perhaps "The Eagle" provided some encouraging words that could bring Almeida back to his finishing ways at UFC 302.
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