Jailton Jesus Almeida Júnior (born 28 June 1991) is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist. He competed in the Light Heavyweight and Heavyweight divisions of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).
Almeida was born in the Brotas neighborhood of Salvador. Almeida's first dream was to be a football player, but his family's finances became an obstacle after he was required to acquire $10,000 real to join a club. He ended up following his father's footsteps into fighting, beginning by training boxing at the age of six, and starting Brazilian jiu-jitsu at 11. He eventually started training mixed martial arts as his jiu-jitsu training partners were training it. Financial difficulties also imposed themselves in martial arts, leading Almeida to work as a doorman and guard while his dream of being a fighter was put on hold.
He has 11 siblings; his older brother Alexandre disappeared one day after being involved with a criminal organization and was never seen again.
To start his professional mixed martial arts career, Almeida racked a 13âÂÂ2 record in Brazilian regional circuit.
After claiming the Thunder Fight title, Almeida was invited to face Nasrudin Nasrudinov at Dana White's Contender Series 39 on September 14, 2021. He won the bout via second-round submission and was awarded a UFC contract.
Almeida was scheduled to make his promotional debut against Danilo Marques on November 13, 2021, at UFC Fight Night 197. However Marques required surgery so the bout was rescheduled for February 5, 2022 at UFC Fight Night 200. Almeida won the fight via technical knockout in round one.
As his sophomore appearance in the organization, Almeida was scheduled to face Maxim Grishin on May 21, 2022, at UFC Fight Night 206. However, Grishin pulled out due to undisclosed reasons in late April. Almeida decided to move up to heavyweight to face Parker Porter. He won the fight via rear-naked choke in round one.
As the first bout of his new contract, Almeida was scheduled to face Shamil Abdurakhimov at UFC 279 on September 10, 2022. However, Abdurakhimov was forced to withdraw due to visa issues and was replaced by Anton Turkalj at a catchweight of 220 pounds. He dominated the bout, taking down Turkalj and submitting him at the end of the first round via rear-naked choke. He received his first Performance of the Night bonus award.
The bout against Shamil Abdurakhimov was rebooked for UFC 280 on October 22, 2022. With that date also falling through, the pair was re-booked for a third time at UFC 283. Almeida won the fight via technical knockout in the second round. With this win, he received the Performance of the Night award.
Almeida faced Jairzinho Rozenstruik on May 13, 2023, at UFC on ABC 4. He won the bout via rear naked choke in first round. This win earned him the Performance of the Night award.
Almeida was scheduled to face Curtis Blaydes on November 4, 2023, at UFC Fight Night 231. However, Blaydes withdrew for unknown reasons and was replaced by former UFC Heavyweight Championship challenger Derrick Lewis. Almeida won the fight via unanimous decision. He also registered 21:10 of ground control time, the record for a UFC heavyweight bout and fourth-most in UFC history. Almeida's performance and the fight were criticized by fans and fellow fighters for a lack of offense.
Almeida faced Curtis Blaydes on March 9, 2024, at UFC 299. After scoring multiple takedowns and controlling the first round with his grappling, Almeida lost the fight via knockout early in the second round.
Almeida was scheduled to face Alexander Volkov on June 1, 2024 at UFC 302. However, the bout was scrapped for unknown reasons and Volkov was booked for UFC on ABC 6 against Sergei Pavlovich. Almeida ended up facing Alexander Romanov instead. Almeida won the fight by a rear-naked choke submission in the first round.
Almeida faced Serghei Spivac on January 18, 2025 at UFC 311. He won the fight by technical knockout at the end of the first round. This fight earned him another Performance of the Night award.
Almeida faced Alexander Volkov on October 25, 2025, at UFC 321. He lost the fight by split decision.
Replacing Ryan Spann, who withdrew for undisclosed reasons, Almeida faced Rizvan Kuniev on February 7, 2026 at UFC Fight Night 266. He lost the fight by unanimous decision.
On February 11, 2026, it was reported that the UFC has parted ways with Almeida, after losing a lacklustre decision to Kuniev.
On February 21, 2026, it was reported that Almeida signed with Russian promotion Absolute Championship Akhmat.
|- |Loss |align=center|22âÂÂ5 |Rizvan Kuniev |Decision (unanimous) | | |align=center|3 |align=center|5:00 |Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |- |Loss |align=center|22âÂÂ4 |Alexander Volkov |Decision (split) |UFC 321 | |align=center|3 |align=center|5:00 |Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates | |- |Win |align=center|22âÂÂ3 |Serghei Spivac |TKO (punches) |UFC 311 | |align=center|1 |align=center|4:53 |Inglewood, California, United States | |- |Win |align=center|21âÂÂ3 |Alexander Romanov |Submission (rear-naked choke) |UFC 302 | |align=center|1 |align=center|2:27 |Newark, New Jersey, United States | |- |Loss |align=center|20âÂÂ3 |Curtis Blaydes |KO (punches) |UFC 299 | |align=center|2 |align=center|0:36 |Miami, Florida, United States | |- |Win |align=center|20âÂÂ2 |Derrick Lewis |Decision (unanimous) | | |align=center|5 |align=center|5:00 |São Paulo, Brazil | |- |Win |align=center|19âÂÂ2 |Jairzinho Rozenstruik |Submission (rear-naked choke) | | |align=center|1 |align=center|3:43 |Charlotte, North Carolina, United States | |- |Win |align=center|18âÂÂ2 |Shamil Abdurakhimov |TKO (punches) |UFC 283 | |align=center|2 |align=center|2:56 |Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | |- |Win |align=center|17âÂÂ2 |Anton Turkalj |Submission (rear-naked choke) |UFC 279 | |align=center|1 |align=center|4:27 |Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |- |Win |align=center|16âÂÂ2 |Parker Porter |Submission (rear-naked choke) | | |align=center|1 |align=center|4:35 |Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |- |Win |align=center|15âÂÂ2 |Danilo Marques |TKO (punches) | | |align=center|1 |align=center|2:57 |Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |- |Win |align=center|14âÂÂ2 |Nasrudin Nasrudinov |Submission (rear-naked choke) |Dana White's Contender Series 39 | |align=center|2 |align=center|1:49 |Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |- |Win |align=center|13âÂÂ2 |Edvaldo de Oliveira |Submission (rear-naked choke) |Thunder Fight 24 | |align=center|1 |align=center|3:40 |São Paulo, Brazil | |- |Win |align=center|12âÂÂ2 |Ildemar Alcântara |Submission (arm-triangle choke) |Thunder Fight 23 | |align=center|1 |align=center|4:49 |São Bernardo do Campo, Brazil | |- |Win |align=center|11âÂÂ2 |Leonardo Argemiro Vasconcelos Correa |TKO (punches) |Future FC 11 | |align=center|1 |align=center|1:58 |São Paulo, Brazil | |- |Win |align=center|10âÂÂ2 |Ednaldo Oliveira |Submission (arm-triangle choke) |Fight On 6 | |align=center|2 |align=center|1:51 |Salvador, Brazil | |- |Win |align=center|9âÂÂ2 |Rian Tavares |TKO (punches) |Imperium MMA Pro 14 | |align=center|1 |align=center|2:34 |Feira de Santana, Brazil | |- |Win |align=center|8âÂÂ2 |Italo Nascimento |KO (punches) |Premier Fight League 20 | |align=center|1 |align=center|2:05 |Lauro de Freitas, Brazil | |- |Win |align=center|7âÂÂ2 |Douglas Garcia |Submission (rear-naked choke) |JF Fight Evolution 19 | |align=center|1 |align=center|2:30 |Juiz de Fora, Brazil | |- |Win |align=center|6âÂÂ2 |David Allan |TKO (punches) |Fight On: Solidário | |align=center|1 |align=center|1:26 |Salvador, Brazil | |- |Loss |align=center|5âÂÂ2 |Bruno Assis |Decision (unanimous) |Shooto Brazil 80 | |align=center|3 |align=center|5:00 |Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | |- |Win |align=center|5âÂÂ1 |Anderson Oliveira do Nascimento |Submission (rear-naked choke) |Fight On 5 | |align=center|1 |align=center|4:16 |Salvador, Brazil | |- |Loss |align=center|4âÂÂ1 |Tyago Moreira |KO (punch) |Katana Fight 3 | |align=center|1 |align=center|0:16 |Colombo, Brazil | |- |Win |align=center|4âÂÂ0 |Fagner Rakchal |TKO (punches) |Fight On 4 | |align=center|2 |align=center|1:15 |Salvador, Brazil | |- |Win |align=center|3âÂÂ0 |Roberto Bispo Silva |Submission (rear-naked choke) |Cross FC 2 | |align=center|2 |align=center|1:30 |Itabuna, Brazil | |- |Win |align=center|2âÂÂ0 |Leonardo Alves |Submission (rear-naked choke) |Conquista Kombat | |align=center|1 |align=center|0:49 |Vitória da Conquista, Brazil | |- |Win |align=center|1âÂÂ0 |Diego Reis |Submission (rear-naked choke) |Nocaute MMA Fight 2 | |align=center|1 |align=center|N/A |Eunápolis, Brazil |