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Jason da Silva-Imagn Images<\/p>\n
Speaking with Ariel Helwani, No. 5-ranked heavyweight Jailton Almeida made it loud and clear how he’d handle Aspinall if they meet in the Octagon.<\/p>\n
“I’m more explosive than anybody he has faced, especially on the grappling side of things,” Almeida said. “I think it would probably develop as a grappling fight.<\/p>\n
“He is a BJJ black belt, but there’s levels to being a black belt. I think that I’ll be able to take him into deep waters once we get to the grappling side of things.”<\/p>\n
“I’m more explosive than anybody [Aspinall] has faced, especially on the grappling side of things. I think it would probably develop as a grappling fight.<\/p>\n
He is a BJJ black belt, but there’s levels to being a black belt. I think that I’ll be able to take him into deep waters\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/Dfjp1tbWYb<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) July 29, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n Almeida fights Alexander Volkov on Aspinall’s main card at UFC 321, in what is almost certainly a title eliminator. Despite accusations of being a boring fighter- primarily from his tepid performance against Derrick Lewis -Almeida has finished all but one of his fights.<\/p>\n Concerns have been raised by his handling of larger opponents, such as Lewis. Almeida was thoroughly out-muscled but maintained dominant positions with superior technique, rather than dishing out damage. Whether he brings a different strategy for the much more athletic, much larger Aspinall, is a whole other matter.<\/p>\n Stick with\u00a0MMAKnockout<\/a>\u00a0for more\u00a0FREE coverage\u00a0of the UFC, MMA, Boxing. Follow MMAKnockout on\u00a0Facebook<\/a>,\u00a0Twitter<\/a>, and\u00a0Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n