Jailton Almeida is ready and waiting to capitalize on the news of Jon Jones’ retirement.
With Jones vacating the UFC heavyweight title and Tom Aspinall (15-3 MMA, 8-1 UFC) confirmed as the new champion, Almeida (22-3 MMA, 8-1 UFC) believes he’s perfectly positioned to be the next challenger for the belt.
“We’re hopeful,” Almeida said this week during an interview with MMA Fighting. “In fact, I’m the only guy in the division asking to fight Tom Aspinall. If you look at it, (Alexander) Volkov doesn’t ask for it. Ciryl Gane is shooting movies, (Serghei) Pavlovich already fought him and has another fight booked. I’m the only one left, and I’m the one calling him out.”
The heavyweight division had been at a bit of a standstill since Tom Aspinall stepped in for the injured Jon Jones at UFC 295 in November 2023 and knocked out Sergei Pavlovich to become the interim champion.
When Jones eventually returned from injury a year later, he ignored calls to face Aspinall in a title unification bout and instead fought Stipe Miocic, defeating the former champion with relative ease.
“Bones” repeatedly dismissed the idea of a fight with Aspinall before officially announcing his retirement this past weekend. Now, with Aspinall ready and eager to move the division forward, Jailton Almeida says he’s been patiently waiting for this moment all along.
“I follow Tom Aspinall on Instagram and watch all his training. It’s like homework for me already,” Almeida said. “I’m the one talking about him, sending messages, posting on Twitter, using social media to promote the fight. That’s how it all starts. I don’t see anyone else calling out Tom Aspinall. I’m the only one asking to fight him. … I’ve seen him talk about me on podcasts, so let’s put pen to paper and sign the contract to fight me.”
Since joining the UFC through Dana White’s Contender Series in 2021, Almeida has won eight of his nine fights inside the Octagon—matching Aspinall’s record. With 15 UFC finishes between them, the Brazilian believes a showdown with the new champion would be nothing short of fireworks.
“It’s going to be a great fight because our styles are similar. He’s fast. Not surprisingly he’s the champion,” Almeida said. “What I’ve seen from Tom Aspinall is that he doesn’t fight five rounds. He’s never fought five rounds in his life. He gets tired after the second. Tom Aspinall was never tested to fight more than three rounds. I’m doing six, seven rounds in the gym already, and I’m not even training to fight yet.
“If I fight Tom Aspinall, I’ll take him to the third round to see how he does. But Aspinall is no fool, he’s very experienced and has fought tough opponents, so I have to be smart and come up with a good strategy to beat him. To me, when the cage closes there, it’s a war. I’m ready for a war.”
