Heavyweight grappling sensation Jailton Almeida will return to the Octagon on March 9 for a rescheduled showdown with Curtis ‘Razor’ Blaydes.
Emanating from The Magic City of Miami, Florida, UFC 299 will feature the first title defense of newly crowned bantamweight world champion Sean O’Malley. After scoring a stunning second-round knockout against Aljamain Sterling in August, ‘Sugar’ will put his title on the line against the only fighter to beat him inside the Octagon thus far, Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera.
In the only heavyweight bout currently announced for the card, Almeida will look to continue his meteoric rise up the divisional ladder against the man he was originally scheduled to fight at UFC Sao Paulo last month.
Curtis Blaydes will fight Jailton Almeida at #UFC299 on March 9th. (per @MMAFighting) #UFC #MMA #UFCESPN #UFC2024 pic.twitter.com/7X1yoQo6Vz
— Marcel Dorff
(@BigMarcel24) December 12, 2023
(@BigMarcel24)
Jailton Almeida (6-0 UFC, 20-2 MMA) has been working his way up the division since making his promotional debut in May 2022 with a first-round submission over Parker Porter. ‘Malhadinho’ followed that up with an impressive showing against Anton Turkalj and Shamil Abdurakhimov.
Since then, Almeida has seen a significant step up in competition against the likes of Jairzinho Rozenstruik and Derrick Lewis. After walking through ‘Bigi Boi’ with a first-round submission, he put a beating on ‘The Black Beast’ for five rounds when the promotion returned to his home country.
Curtis Blaydes ready to get back into the win column against jailton almeida
Curtis Blaydes (12-4 UFC, 17-4 MMA) will look to get back into the win column after seeing his three-fight win streak snapped at the hands of Russian knockout artist Sergei Pavlovich.
To his credit, Blaydes’ three losses under the UFC banner have come against some of the heaviest hitters in the history of the division, including Derrick Lews, Francis Ngannou, and the aforementioned Sergei Pavlovich. ‘Razor’ was originally slated to fight Jailton Almeida on November 4 in Brazil, but an ankle injury sidelined their clash with many wondering whether or not it would be rebooked.
Fights currently scheduled or in the works for UFC 299 include:
- Sean O’Malley vs. Marlon Vera (UFC bantamweight championship)
- Gilbert Burns vs. Jack Della Maddalena
- Jailton Almeida vs. Curtis Blaydes
- Mateusz Gamrot vs. Rafael dos Anjos
- Pedro Munhoz vs. Kyler Philips
- CJ Vergara vs. Asu Almabaev
- Katlyn Chookagian vs. Maycee Barber
Card is subject to change.