https://www.mmanews.com/news/jailton-almeida-booked-ufc-302-return-june
UFC heavyweight contender Jailton Almeida won’t have too long to wait for his opportunity to return to winning ways.
After a strong start to life on MMA’s biggest stage, Almeida had his 14-fight professional win streak snapped and undefeated UFC record blemished by Curtis Blaydes at the UFC 299 pay-per-view in Miami earlier this month.
With both his performance in victory over Derrick Lewis last November and approach opposite Blaydes prior to a TKO defeat drawing criticism, “Malhadinho” is in need of a big performance to re-rail his hype train.
He’ll have the chance to deliver that when he makes a quick return to action at UFC 302 on June 1, a numbered event expected to take place at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
There, Almeida is slated to collide with former Bellator champion and longtime UFC contender Alexander Volkov. News of the heavyweight fight was first reported by Super Lutas’ Léo Guimaraes.
Almeida Targets Rebound Win Opposite Volkov
When the pair of top heavyweights do battle in “The Garden State,” they’ll do so off the back of vastly different result.
The #7-ranked Almeida (20-3) broke onto the scene as a light heavyweight with a standout performance on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2021. And after UFC wins at both 205 pounds and heavyweight, the Brazilian was widely touted as future champion in both divisions.
With his current focus on the heavier weight class, “Malhadinho” moved closer to the gold with wins over Shamil Abdurakhimov, Jairzinho Rozenstruik, and Lewis. But after his main event triumph over “The Black Beast” in Brazil hampered his reputation as a finisher, Almeida’s grappling-heavy strategy was exploited by Blaydes at UFC 299, as “Razor” countered a takedown attempt with a barrage of hammerfists en route to a TKO.
Despite that, Almeida still has the chance to climb the pecking order next time out against the #6-ranked Volkov (37-10). The Russian vet has been a mainstay in the heavyweight top 10 for years, and three consecutive wins over Rozenstruik, Alexandr Romanov, and Tai Tuivasa have put him back to within touching distance of the top five and title contention.
Minutes after the announcement, UFC released a press release with five scheduled fights, which are the following:
Middleweight: Roman Dolidze vs. Anthony Hernandez
Women’s Bantamweight: Ailin Perez vs. Joselyne Edwards
Lightweight: Grant Dawson vs. Joe Solecki
Welterweight: Phil Rowe vs. Jake Matthews
Welterweight: Mickey Gall vs. Bassil Hafez
UFC brought a PPV to Newark, New Jersey last year for UFC 288 (May 6, 2024), where Aljamain Sterling defended his then-Bantamweight title against Henry Cejudo in the main event. In the co-main event, Belal Muhammad defeated Gilbert Burns to earn a No. 1 contender spot for the Welterweight title (which he hasn’t got yet).
UFC 302 tickets will go on sale Friday, Apr. 12 at 10 a.m. ET.
Jailton Almeida remains on UFC 302, just against a different opponent than initially expected.
With original opponent Alexander Volkov off the card, Almeida (20-3 MMA, 6-1 UFC) now is expected to face Alexandr Romanov (17-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC) instead.
The bout is targeted for June 1 at Prudential Center. Verbal agreements are in place with bout contracts expected to be issued and signed in the coming days. Ag. Fight was first to report the news.
Volkov (37-10 MMA, 11-4 UFC) was removed by the promotion and slotted into a fight June 22 in Saudi Arabia vs. Sergei Pavlovich (18-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC. However, the status of that bout is unclear.
Almeida, 32, makes a relatively quick turnaround after the first loss of his UFC tenure, a knockout defeat against Curtis Blaydes at UFC 299 in Miami in March. The defeat snapped a 15-fight winning streak that included victories over Derrick Lewis and Jairzinho Rozenstruik among others.
Romanov, 33, hopes to keep his momentum alive after a July decision victory over Blagoy Ivanov. The victory snapped a two-fight skid that consisted of the first two losses of his career.
With the addition, the UFC 302 fight card includes:
- Roman Dolidze vs. Anthony Hernandez
- Jailton Almeida vs. Alexandr Romanov
- Joselyne Edwards vs. Ailin Perez
- Mickey Gall vs. Bassil Hafez
- Grant Dawson vs. Joe Solecki
- Jake Matthews vs. Phil Rowe
- Andre Lima vs. Hyun Sung Park
- Niko Price vs. Jeremiah Wells
- Su Mudaerji vs. Joshua Van
- Cesar Almeida vs. Roman Kopylov
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