Video: Fighter With Down Syndrome Defeats UFC Heavyweight Contender Jailton Almeida

Jailton Almeida returned to action a little sooner than his epic upcoming fight at UFC 299.

Almeida competed in a charity fight tonight at Demo Fight 18 (Sat., Jan. 27, 2023), where he lost to Alvaro Borges, an athlete with Down syndrome via a decision from inside CT de Boxe e Artes Marciais, in Salvador, Brazil.

The match had quite a bit of action in it. The UFC Heavyweight took Borges down, but then Borges reversed position and ended up in Almeida’s guard, where he dropped ground and pound. Borges took Almeida’s back and then transitioned into a triangle choke after he fell off the top.

The second round opened with Almeida picking Borges up, running around the cage, and eventually dropping him. Borges would reverse Almeida again and try to lock up an armbar.

Nevertheless, Borges would defeat Almeida and get a World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) replica belt wrapped around his waist.

Check out the highlights below:

After the fight, “Malhadinho” took to his social media.

“Guys, unfortunately I couldn’t win. But my congratulations to champion Alvinho Borges. You deserve it so much!!! Congratulations,” Almeida wrote.

What a gem of a human being …

Almeida (20-2) returns to action on March 9 at UFC 299, where he takes on No. 5 Heavyweight Curtis Blydes in a rebooking of a fight that was supposed to headline UFC Sao Paulo. He is coming off a dominant but lackluster decision win over Derrick Lewis.