UFC star Jailton Almeida will make a significant change following his latest lopsided defeat at UFC Vegas 113 last Saturday.

UFC heavyweight contender Jailton Almeida was on the cusp of a potential title shot after winning his first six fights in the promotion. But after a streaky start to his UFC tenure, Almeida has now lost three of his last five fights, including most recently against Rizvan Kuniev at UFC Vegas 113 last Saturday.

Almeida lost to Kuniev by unanimous decision in a short-notice booking at the Meta Apex last weekend. The talented grappler wasn’t able to deal a lot of damage to Kuniev through three rounds, as he dropped another lopsided fight on the judges’ scorecards.

It was a disappointing setback for Almeida after filling for Ryan Spann, who withdrew due to injury, on short notice at UFC Vegas 113. The fight marked Almeida’s return to the Octagon after a split decision loss to Alexander Volkov at UFC 321 in October.

After competing in heavyweight and light heavyweight bouts at the beginning of his UFC career, Almeida has competed mostly at heavyweight in recent years. But after UFC Vegas 113, Almeida will return to his roots.

Jailton Almeida’s team plans major changes after latest setback at UFC Vegas 113

After falling at UFC Vegas 113, Almeida and his team have decided that the talented Brazilian will make the full-time move to light heavyweight. Almeida’s decision was first reported by Connect Cast and later confirmed by MMA Fighting.

Almeida’s last light heavyweight fight came against Daino Marques in February 2022, winning his promotional debut by first-round TKO. He went on to move to heavyweight and picked up wins over Parker Porter, Shamil Abdurakhimov, and Jairzinho Rozenstruik.

Almeida’s recent defeats to Alexander Volkov, Curtis Blaydes, and Kuniev have put his heavyweight title hopes on an indefinite hold. A move to light heavyweight could be enough to get Almeida back on track in the cage.

Will Jailton Almeida contend for a UFC light heavyweight title? Let us know your predictions in the comments!