Thomas Almeida responds to Johnny Eduardo’s callout: ‘It would be a beautiful fight’

Thomas Almeida demolished Brad Pickett at UFC 189 in July, and a fellow striker wants to trade punches and kicks with him inside the Octagon.

Johnny Eduardo, who hasn’t competed since a devastating first-round knockout over Eddie Wineland in May of 2014, has been campaigning for a fight against Almeida on social media since UFC 189.

“What’s up, ‘Thominhas’, congrats again, nice knockout, well deserved bonus, congrats Chute Boxe,” Eduardo said on a video posted on his Facebook page. “Let’s do this clash of generations, you and me? It’s about time, fans are asking. Let’s do this?”

Almeida, who won post-fight bonuses after his three UFC wins, is 19-0 in MMA with 18 finishes, and welcomes a fight against the Nova Uniao bantamweight, who holds a 27-9 record with 20 stoppages.

“It would be a beautiful fight, yes,” Almeida told MMAFighting.com. “I will fight anyone the UFC wants. Give me some time to train, and I will fight anyone. He was very polite in his challenge, and I like that. You don’t need to make it personal. I’m an employee and I will fight whoever they want.”

The Chute Boxe fighter won’t turn down a fight against Eduardo, but would rather fight a non-Brazilian.

“If I could choose, I’d rather not fight a Brazilian because we defend the same country and I already fought many Brazilians before, but it’s a fight and I can’t choose,” he said. “I want to be the No. 1, the champion, so I can’t say no to any fight. But I’d prefer to fight a ‘gringo’.”

Thomas Almeida demolished Brad Pickett at UFC 189 in July, and a fellow striker wants to trade punches and kicks with him inside the Octagon.

Johnny Eduardo, who hasn’t competed since a devastating first-round knockout over Eddie Wineland in May of 2014, has been campaigning for a fight against Almeida on social media since UFC 189.

“What’s up, ‘Thominhas’, congrats again, nice knockout, well deserved bonus, congrats Chute Boxe,” Eduardo said on a video posted on his Facebook page. “Let’s do this clash of generations, you and me? It’s about time, fans are asking. Let’s do this?”

Almeida, who won post-fight bonuses after his three UFC wins, is 19-0 in MMA with 18 finishes, and welcomes a fight against the Nova Uniao bantamweight, who holds a 27-9 record with 20 stoppages.

“It would be a beautiful fight, yes,” Almeida told MMAFighting.com. “I will fight anyone the UFC wants. Give me some time to train, and I will fight anyone. He was very polite in his challenge, and I like that. You don’t need to make it personal. I’m an employee and I will fight whoever they want.”

The Chute Boxe fighter won’t turn down a fight against Eduardo, but would rather fight a non-Brazilian.

“If I could choose, I’d rather not fight a Brazilian because we defend the same country and I already fought many Brazilians before, but it’s a fight and I can’t choose,” he said. “I want to be the No. 1, the champion, so I can’t say no to any fight. But I’d prefer to fight a ‘gringo’.”