Not the fresh start Jailton Almeida was looking for.
The former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Heavyweight contender came up short in his Absolute Championship Akhmat (ACA) debut earlier today (Sat., Sept. 12, 2026), dropping a unanimous decision to former ACA champion Evgeniy Goncharov in the main event of ACA 207 from Basket Hall in Krasnodar, Russia.
Almeida immediately went to his bread and butter, repeatedly attempting to drag Goncharov to the ground in the opening round. However, the Russian
heavyweight stuffed the early takedown attempts and forced “Malhadinho” to work from the clinch. Following a brief pause for an accidental low blow, Almeida resumed his pressure and pinned Goncharov against the cage, but it was Goncharov who landed the heavier strikes and appeared to hurt the Brazilian before the bell.
Almeida found more success in the second round, landing on the feet before eventually completing a powerful takedown with approximately one minute remaining. He threatened with a submission and landed a hard elbow from top position, but ran out of time to capitalize.
The third round delivered a major surprise when Goncharov turned the tables and took Almeida down in the center of the cage. Almeida remained active from his back, defending submission attempts and firing strikes from the bottom, but Goncharov maintained control before unloading a late barrage of ground-and-pound. Almeida survived until the final bell, but all three judges awarded Goncharov the victory.
Check out some highlights below:
The loss was Almeida’s first appearance since UFC surprisingly released him following consecutive decision defeats to Alexander Volkov and Rizvan Kuniev. Almeida finished his Octagon run with an 8-3 record, scoring seven stoppages across his eight victories, but his latest defeat extends the first three-fight losing streak of his professional career.
Almeida had several options after leaving UFC, including a lucrative one-fight offer to face former Heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos at MVP MMA 1. Instead, he honored his commitment to ACA and signed a four-fight contract with the Russian promotion.
Bad choice?
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