Scouting Report: Jailton Almeida

Jailton Almeida

Born: June 26, 1991 (Age: 31) in Salvador, Brazil
Division: Heavyweight
Height: 6’3”
Reach: 79”
Record: 18-2 (4-0 UFC)
Association: Galpao da Luta
Stage of Career: Prime

Summary: While clearly talented, Almeida remains something of a mystery four fights into his UFC career. We know little about his striking, other than he likes to throw front kicks to the face to set up his shots. His grappling game is quite effective, and he has been able to do the exact same thing across all four UFC victories. A quick but flawed shot, even if it gets stuffed, allows him to grapple in the clinch, and is often followed by what is typically an authoritative double-leg pickup and slam. His top control is excellent, but, if necessary, Almeida will call upon mat returns to get the action back to the canvas. Once on top, Almeida begins his unorthodox but highly potent ground-and-pound—an accurate, hard mixture of hammerfists, punches and elbows. If the opponent turns away, he has a quick, slick rear-naked choke with which he can finish, whether conventional or palm-to-palm. There are a lot of question marks about Almeida and many of his capabilities. However, anyone without sufficiently sound grappling does not have a chance at stopping him.

STRIKING

• Stance: Orthodox.
• Hand Speed: N/A (He has not yet thrown a punch in the UFC).
• Jab: N/A.
• Cross: N/A.
• Left Hook: N/A.
• Overhand Right: N/A.
• Uppercuts: N/A.
• Solitary Striker or Volume Puncher: N/A.
• Favorite Combination(s): N/A.
• Leg Kicks: He has only thrown one on roughly three occasions, and they looked hard and accurate. Almeida hurt Abdurakhimov with a connection early in Round 2, though the Russian already looked compromised by then.
• Body Kicks: N/A (He has not yet thrown a body kick in the UFC).
• Head Kicks: He likes to throw a front kick to the head. It is fast and sudden, though it can be caught and countered, as happened against Abdurakhimov. Almeida uses it to set up his shots. It is at least a decent strike, but he should step forward with it more if he wants to inflict damage rather than merely set up a takedown.
• Chains Kicks to Punches: N/A.

Not much can be said yet about Almeida’s striking. His main kick is a front kick to the face, which is fast and sudden but often just meant to set up a shot. It can also be caught and countered, as Abdurakhimov showed when he fed the Brazilian an overhand right at full force. The only other strike Almeida has thrown in the UFC is a leg kick, which looks solid enough. Nothing is known about his punches, and Almeida almost immediately grapples, as he does not want to spend any time on the feet.

CLINCH

Physical Strength: Excellent. A powerful fighter who can lift and slam even much heavier opponents with ease. However, he has yet to face a truly strong grappler.
Technique: Certainly proficient at the takedowns he attempts, but his questionable level of competition makes it difficult to say.
Knees: Almeida has not yet thrown one in a typical clinch situations in the UFC. He threw one to the thigh of an opponent who was turned away and trying to get back to his feet.
Elbows: Does not throw them.
Defense Against Knees/Elbows: Unknown.

Almeida loves to grapple in the clinch and is highly effective there, as he usually takes opponents down quickly with a double-leg pickup and slam. No one in the UFC has been able to stop this maneuver.

GRAPPLING

• Wrestling from a Shot: Decent but often just a setup to begin grappling in the clinch. He has a quick double-leg shot, but his head is too far to the side and he often ends on his knees before getting to the opponent’s hips. However, even when it fails, it allows him to begin wrestling in the clinch.
• Wrestling in the Clinch: Features a powerful double-leg pickup and slam that opponents cannot stop. He can also execute a beautiful mat return, along with a outside trip—a technique with which he hit Abdurakhimov.
• Takedown Defense: No one has tried to take him down.
• Ability to Return to feet: A complete mystery at present.
• Submissions: Almeida has shown a quick, precise rear naked-choke he slaps on instantly when opponents turn their back, and he can finish it either conventionally or with a palm-to-palm grip. He has also gone for an arm-triangle choke on a few occasions. The Brazilian wisely abandons submissions as soon as it becomes clear they will not work, so he does not waste any excess energy on them.
• Defense/Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu from the Bottom: He has not yet been put in this position.
• Top Control: Calls upon heavy hip pressure and tracks opponent movements well. Almeida also uses wrist control and grapevines the legs proficiently. He can suck out the hips as the opponent builds a base back up.
• Ground-and-Pound: Unorthodox but quite effective. He uses a lot of hammerfists with impact and accuracy, and he throws solid, accurate punches while using part of his body. The Brazilian can either split the guard with a straight punch or an arched punch around the gloves, all thrown at a significant rate of fire. He now adds a hard, accurate elbow, as well.

Almeida has implemented the same grappling gameplan in all four UFC fights, and opponents have been powerless to stop it. He begins with a quick shot. The shot is flawed, with his head too far to the side or even ending on his knees before grabbing the hips, but that is not the point, as it allows him to begin grappling in the clinch. There, he is excellent, with powerful double-leg pickups and slams, beautiful mat returns and even a nice outside trip. His top control is quite effective through heavy hip pressure, wrist control and tracking opponent movement well. His ground-and-pound is outstanding, with all his strikes being hard and especially accurate, whether they are hammerfists, punches or elbows. If opponents turn away, he has slick rear-naked choke with which to finish them off.

INTANGIBLES

• Athleticism/General Physical Strength: Tremendously powerful with some quick, explosive, dynamic movements.
• Cardio: He has never gone past the midway point of the second round in the UFC. However, conditioning figures to be a strength, as his grappling style requires a lot of energy.
• Chin: Almeida absorbed a thudding overhand right from Abdurakhimov and showed no signs of being hurt.
• Recuperative Powers: Unproven.
• Intelligence: Impossible to tell, as he has not yet been forced to deviate and adjust. He uses the same gameplan over and over again, staying disciplined, abandoning submission attempts that will not work and making correct decisions. With that said, it is a relatively easy path for someone to follow if they continually get takedowns and dominate in top position.