While Curtis Blaydes was smothered in the first round against Jailton Almeida, he found a path to a very satisfying result early in Round 2 at UFC 299.
In the final preliminary bout at Kaseya Center in Miami, Blaydes (18-4 MMA, 13-4 UFC) solved the grappling attack of Almeida (20-3 MMA, 6-1 UFC) by raining down hammerfists to score a TKO stoppage at 0:36 of Round 2.
When the fight began, Almeida didn’t waste much time attempting to get Blaydes to the canvas, and was successful with his first takedown. Blaydes quickly got back to his feet, just to get lifted and dumped again. Just when Blaydes would work back to his feet, Almeida continued to drag him back down repeatedly using a variety of techniques, effectively shutting down any offensive output from Blaydes.
The fight quickly changed course early in Round 2.
After an opening exchange of strikes, Almeida shot in for another takedown. Blaydes hit a solid sprawl, and instead of potentially spending another round grappling, he decided to unleash a furious series of hammerfists. Blaydes kept pounding until Almeida released his grip and dropped to the canvas, prompting referee Mike Beltran to stop the fight.
CURTIS BLAYDES HANDS JAILTON ALMEIDA HIS FIRST UFC LOSS 😱 #UFC299 pic.twitter.com/lf3aiIdyKY
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) March 10, 2024
The result marks a return to the win column for Blaydes, following a stoppage loss to Sergei Pavlovich. During his post-fight interview, Blaydes called for a rematch with current interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall. The pair first met in July 2022, but the fight ended in just 15 seconds after Apsinall suffered a freak knee injury.
On the other side, Almeida exits with his first loss under the UFC banner. The Brazilian grappler entered on the heels of a November main event unanimous decision win over former title challenger Derrick Lewis.
Up-to-the-minute UFC 299 results include:
- Curtis Blaydes def. Jailton Almeida via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 0:36
- Maycee Barber vs. Katlyn Cerminara via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
- Mateusz Gamrot def. Rafael dos Anjos via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
- Kyler Phillips def. Pedro Munhoz via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Philipe Lins def. Ion Cutelaba via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Michel Pereira def. Michal Oleksiejczuk via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 1:01
- Robelis Despaigne def. Josh Parisian via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 0:18
- Asu Almabaev def. CJ Vergara via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Joanne Wood def. Maryna Moroz via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 299.
