UFC Heavyweight Star Reveals Surprise Return to Alex Pereira's Weight Class

One of the UFC’s top-ranked heavyweight contenders is opting for a major change following the first back-to-back losses of his career.

The UFC held the first UFC Fight Night of the year last Saturday at the promotion’s Meta APEX facility in Las Vegas, NV, and the card featured a number of notable results that produced some significant changes in the official UFC rankings.

One of the night’s highest-profile bouts was a heavyweight clash between Jailton Almeida and Rizvan Kuniev, which saw Kuniev rebound from a disappointing loss in his promotional debut when he took a unanimous decision over top-ranked contender Almeida.

Jailton Almeida Plans To Return To UFC Light Heavyweight Division

The result puts Almeida on the first losing skid of his career after he also came up short against Alexander Volkov at UFC 321, and Laerte Viana reports that “Malhadinho” intends to try and reignite his career by dropping back down to the light heavyweight division.

A contract winner on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2021, Almeida initially joined the UFC as a light heavyweight and finished Danilo Marques in the first ound of his promotional debut in 2022. Following two more first-round finishes in a heavyweight bout with Parker Porter and catchweight contest against Anton Turkaj at UFC 279, the Brazilian fully committed to the heavyweight division starting in 2023.

Jailton Almeida (red gloves) celebrates after defeating Serghei Spivac (blue gloves) during UFC 311 at Intuit Dome. | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

The 34-year-old established himself as a potential title challenger with three-straight victories before being stopped by Curtis Blaydes. Almeida rebounded with first-round finishes of Alexandr Romanov and Serghei Spivac before his current two-fight skid encouraged the Brazilian to return to light heavyweight.

Rizvan Kuniev Moves Into UFC Heavyweight Title Contention

While Almeida opted for a major change following UFC Vegas 113, his opponent Kuniev immediately vaulted into heavyweight title contention and has debuted at #6 in the divisional rankings.

The former Eagle FC heavyweight champion made a one-off appearance for the PFL in 2023 and defeated Renan Ferreira via unanimous decision, but that result was overturned to a No Contest after Kuniev tested positive for several banned substances. Ferreira went on to win that year’s PFL heavyweight tournament, while Kuniev was booked for Dana White’s Contender Series in 2024 and earned a UFC contract with a buzzer-beater finish of Hugo Cunha.

Rizvan Kuniev during his fight with Renan Ferreira at 2023 PFL 2. | (Cooper Neill/PFL)

Fans had to wait nearly a year for Kuniev to make his official Octagon debut and drop a split decision to Curtis Blaydes, but the 33-year-old may only be one more win away from a heavyweight title shot after defeating Almeida last weekend.

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