The UFC loves chopping down prospects before giving them their time to shine. That was on full display at UFC Fight Night 88 on Sunday.
Thomas Almeida should have been a godsend for the UFC. A long, athletic striker, he has captured fans’ attention with his pure ferocity and finishing power. Just as importantly, he arrived at a time where Brazilian MMA is struggling, with Fabricio Werdum and Jose Aldo dropping their titles and a number of top stars moving towards retirement.
In any other sport, whether it’s boxing or baseball, Almeida is the the kind of athlete who would be groomed for years before being pushed into the spotlight. In the UFC, though? He’s thrown into the cage for a dangerous fight with a relatively unknown prospect that offers him nothing in victory, and takes everything in defeat. That prospect, of course, is Cody Garbrandt.
Garbrandt turned heads on the regional circuit by knocking out all comers and earned a ticket to the UFC very early on in his career. Entering the Octagon for the first time at just 23 years old with a career record of 5-0 (all wins ending via first-round knockout), he debuted with an impressive win over skilled striker Marcus Brimage and has kept up his winning ways ever since.
Unfortunately, those wins haven’t translated into attention, ratings or money, which ultimately meant that the Fight Night 88 main event was a lose-lose for Almeida. And boy, did he ever lose.
For two-and-a-half minutes, the fight was exactly what fans wanted. Two scary young men rushing forward and slinging leather. There were flying knees. There were haymakers. And there was a little bit of blood for good measure.
Then Garbrandt sneaked a straight right through Almeida’s guard, sending him stumbling backward. Smelling blood, he continued the pressure and landed a savage right hook that sent Almeida crashing to the canvas. A few hammerfists from the top sealed the deal at 2:53 of Round 1.
With that, Garbrandt stole every bit of Almeida’s momentum and absorbed his “the next big thing at 135 pounds” status. He likely jumps directly into the top 10 and could face any number of interesting opponents from there.
He isn’t going to get a title shot quite yet, given how UFC 200’s TJ Dillashaw and Raphael Assuncao are likely next in line after UFC 199’s Dominick Cruz vs. Urijah Faber title bout. There is, however, a very real chance that he ends up with gold this time next year.
Almeida, unfortunately, now is now in rebuilding mode for the foreseeable future. Despite all of his past success and the fact he remains one of the division’s hottest young names, he now faces the usual barrage of “overhyped” claims from fans and a solid two years of under-promoted, unheralded preliminary-card matchups from UFC matchmakers.
It’s somewhat sad that Almeida was put into such a position. This story has played out more than a few times in the past with names like Johny Hendricks, Alexander Gustafsson and Rory MacDonald taking unnecessary losses early on in their careers and struggling to recover for years. Almeida may or may not bounce back, but it’s a shame he has to spend the coming months undoing the damage of this loss rather than growing his profile and skill set.
Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com