This past weekend in the main event of UFC Charlotte, we saw a battle between two heavyweight contenders. Unbeaten inside the octagon, Jailton Almeida (19-2) was looking to remain perfect as he took on “Bigi Boy” Jairzinho Rozenstruik (13-5).
Thus far in his UFC career, nobody has been able to stop Almeida. He’s taken all of his opponents to the ground and when he does, they’ve had no answer. If Rozenstruik could stop his takedowns, we were going to see a very interesting fight on Saturday night.
Rozenstruik started with a lot of pressure and looked like he was going to try and force the shot from Almeida. This is a technique that a lot of strikers do which actually allows them to see takedowns coming easier. He defended the first takedown and kept things standing.
However, Almeida beautifully timed his second attempt and got Rozenstruik to the ground. Once the fight hit the mat, it became incredibly one-sided. Almeida worked through his transitions and ended up in the mount. He immediately started throwing big shots which forced Rozenstruik to give up his back.
Once he did, Almeida immediately attacked the choke and got the tap at UFC Charlotte.
Who is next after UFC Charlotte?
After this win, Almeida has moved to 5-0 inside the octagon with five finishes. Only one opponent has even seen a second round against him. His grappling is next level and he truly looks like he’s going to be a problem for the entire heavyweight division.
With this latest win, Almeida is going to firmly jump into the top ten at heavyweight. So, who should the UFC give him in his next bout? I personally think they should give him an opponent with good grappling skills just to see how he fairs against those type of opponents.
There are two names that I like for Almeida next. If they want him to jump to the top of the division, I would suggest Curtis Blaydes. If they want to continue bringing him along at a gradual pace, a guy like Sergei Spivak makes a lot of sense for Almeida.
If the UFC wants to continue building up the hype, they could look at booking him against someone like Tai Tuivasa. Tuivasa has a huge name and big following. However, stylistically, Almeida would be a nightmare for him given his grappling pedigree.