Junior dos Santos took the UFC Heavyweight Championship to Salvador, Brazil in 2011, and now sees potential in Salvador’s Gilton Almeida to repeat it in the near future.
Born in El Salvador in 1991, Malhadinho has racked up five one-sided wins since joining the UFC, as he successfully defeated Jairzinho Rozenstruik in his last appearance in Charlotte. “Cigano,” he said on a recent episode of the MMA Fighting podcast Free exchange that Almeida has what it takes to take control of the department.
“I think he has a lot of potential and this is just the beginning,” Dos Santos said. “He’s fast as hell and works really well with his body. The thing about heavy weights is they’re usually slow. They hit hard, they’re powerful and dangerous, but they’re slow, so you can expect some heavier moves. I see a lot of potential in him. He’s got everything it takes to get there.” There, we’ll cheer him on.”
Almeida moved up to No. 6 in the MMA World Fighting Championships rankings after his dominant win in Charlotte, sitting behind Francis Nganu, John Jones, Sergey Pavlovic, Cyril Gunn and Curtis Blades.
Ngannou recently joined the PFL but is only expected to compete in MMA in 2024. Jones currently holds a UFC title. Bones is expected to defend him next time against Stipe Miocic, who is currently unranked because he hasn’t fought in over 18 months.
“New stars will rise, and the expectations, like Jailton’ Malhadinho,” said dos Santos. “Malhadinho is shining, he’s doing great. His hopes are high for him,” said UFC boss Dana White himself. I remember it was similar in my days and I felt very motivated, I felt the prestige, I felt the pressure. People see how hard you work and the results come. The future of the weight division is being made. The heavy now. Some stop, others go up.”
Jones hinted at a possible retirement if he beats Miocic in his first title defense later in 2023, and Cigano, who went 1-1 in the UFC against Miocic, said it would be a disgrace.
“We don’t want to see the guys we love stop, like Jon Jones, but it’s a personal thing,” said dos Santos. “Jon Jones is still young, so if he retires soon, I think it’s a waste, even. But he should do what’s best for him.”
Almeida called out the fight with Tai Tuivasa after winning the main event live on ABC, the man who lost to “Cigano” in the past but later bounced back with knockouts over Stefan Struve, Harry Hansuker, Greg Hardy, Augusto Sakai and Derrick Lewis before dropping two in a row to Jane and Pavlovich.
Dos Santos is impressed with how Almeida outperforms his opponents on the ground and the fact that he is not afraid of simply doing his bidding no matter how the opponent fights. If he encounters Tuivasa next, his prediction is ready for “Cigano”.
“He’s the 100 percent frontrunner against Tuifasa,” dos Santos said. “It doesn’t take anything away from Tuivasa, it’s very hard, but…”