UFC brutally axe top 10-ranked heavyweight after heavily criticised defeat

Jailton Almeida has been cut from the UFC.

The No.8-ranked heavyweight had recently announced plans to drop down to 205lbs after suffering back-to-back defeats in the glamour division.

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However, the 34-year-old will be forced to launch his light heavyweight campaign elsewhere after the UFC informed him on Wednesday that his time with the company is over.

The verdict comes after a lacklustre unanimous decision defeat to Rizvan Kuniev on Saturday night at UFC Fight Night 266.

Almeida (22-5) came under fire for stalling the action against the cage.

And while most anticipated that he would be given another chance to bounce back, the Brazilian has been told that he will receive written confirmation of his contract termination over the coming days.

Almeida’s tenure with the UFC comes to a close after 11 fights (8-3) and four years with MMA’s premier promotion.

He was awarded a contract after submitting Nasrudin Nasrudinovat at a Dana White‘s Contender Series event in September 2021.

Almeida initially joined the UFC as a light heavyweight, but after blasting away compatriot Danilo Marques inside the opening stanza, he opted to step up a weight class.

Victories over Parker Porter, Anton Turkalj, Shamil Abdurakhimov, Jairzinho Rozenstruik, and Derrick Lewis followed before he suffered a brutal knockout loss to Curtis Blaydes in a fight he was on top of before the stoppage.

Almeida then rebounded to finish Alexandr Romanov and Sergei Spivac inside the distance.

Yet consecutive losses to Alexander Volkov and Kuniev have spelt an end to his UFC tenure.

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UFC’s trend of cutting top-rated heavyweights

The 34-year-old becomes the fourth top-15-ranked heavyweight to be released by the UFC over the past 18 months.

Romanov (20-4) was given his marching orders in November 2024, 48 hours after a dominant win over Rodrigo Nascimento.

Rozenstruik (15-6) succumbed to the same fate last February following a single defeat to Sergei Pavlovich.

Martin Buday (16-3) was then sent packing in July despite a three-fight winning streak and a 7-1 record with the company.

The heavyweight division is now looking thinner than ever as fans keenly await a rematch between Tom Aspinall and Ciryl Gane for the world title.