Jailton Almeida needs to abandon the heavyweight division after his UFC 321 loss

Why Jailton Almeida should move back down to light heavyweight after UFC 321

Negativity surrounding Jailton Almeida heading into UFC 321 was backed up in the eyes of the fans following his loss on Saturday night.

Despite racking up nearly 11 minutes of control time with seven of his nine takedown attempts being successful, the Brazilian produced just nine significant strikes and no submission attempts.

Some credit does have to go to Alexander Volkov for limiting his opponent but this is a criticism that has been aimed at Almeida in regards to his activity in fights for some time.

His fight with Derrick Lewis, for example, was a completely one-sided affair that never seemed close to resulting in a finish despite it being a dominant showing.

There may have been an easy route into title contention for Almeida at heavyweight, but the same can be said for light heavyweight, which is what he should focus on in the near future.

The 34-year-old signed to the UFC as a light heavyweight, and to use his latest fight as an example, he came in nearly 25 pounds lighter than Volkov at the UFC 321 weigh-ins.

205 pounds may be home to some dangerous strikers, but he’s also not going to face the kinds of opponents, like Curtis Blaydes, who can use their size and power to deter him from being more active in fights.

UFC 321 was a very bad night at the office for Almeida and going down to light heavyweight, where he’d likely face a top 10 opponent right away, is exactly the kind of fresh start that he needs despite just losing a title eliminator via split decision.

Jailton Almeida said he could cut back down to light heavyweight earlier this year

While Jailton Almeida hasn’t fought at light heavyweight since his UFC debut, moving back down doesn’t seem to be out of the realms of possibility.

In an appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show in July, Almeida, when speaking about the prospect of him fighting Magomed Ankalaev, said he could still compete at 205 pounds.

“As much as I’ve put on a lot of weight, a lot of muscle mass and everything since my days at light heavyweight, I believe I can still cut the weight and make light heavyweight.”

Almeida might be one of the top contenders in the heavyweight division but the lack of elite grapplers at light heavyweight and his recent performance show that now is the right time to make a change.