UFC 299: "Insane turn of events" - MMA pros react as Curtis Blaydes hands Jailton Almeida "embarrassing" KO despite multiple takedowns

"Insane turn of events" - MMA pros react as Curtis Blaydes hands Jailton Almeida "embarrassing" KO despite multiple takedowns

Curtis Blaydes defeated Jailton Almeida with an impressive knockout [Images Courtesy: Getty Images and @ufceurope] — Curtis Blaydes defeated Jailton Almeida with an impressive knockout [Images courtesy: Getty Images and @ufceurope]

Fans and fellow MMA fighters were impressed as Curtis Blaydes secured a come-from-behind win over Jailton Almeida in the UFC 299 featured prelim bout.

Almeida went into the biggest fight of his professional MMA career against Blaydes in a bid to make a place for himself in the heavyweight division's top-five.

Although Blaydes is known for his formidable wrestling, Almeida proved to be the better grappler and controlled 'Razor' for most of Round 1.

However, Almeida's dominant grappling did not carry the threat of ground-and-pound or aggressive submission attempts.

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Blaydes, who appeared to be the fresher fighter in the second round, pummelled Almeida with hammer fists as the Brazilian attempted a desperate single-leg takedown against the cage.

While Almeida seemed unfazed initially, the barrage of hammer fists eventually knocked him out, and the referee stepped in to stop him from taking unnecessary punishment.

The end came at the 0:36 mark of Round 2.

Watch the finish below:

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Fellow MMA fighters shared their thoughts on Blaydes' victory.

Catch the reactions below:

Fighters were impressed with Blaydes viciously knocking Almeida out

While explaining in his octagon interview how he found the opportunity to score the knockout, Blaydes said:

"We noticed that when he shoots, he shoots with his head down. So I used my belly to push down on the back of his head, and he was not able to drive up.

"The body goes where the head goes. I made his head locked to the ground. He couldn't drive up into me. I got the hammer fists off."

Catch Blaydes' octagon interview below (0:38):

Curtis Blaydes is the last man to beat current interim UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall in the UFC. The win came after the Brit injured his knee early into Round 1 of their main event bout at UFC London in July 2022. The victory against Almeida keeps his hopes for the potential rematch alive.

Meanwhile, the loss to Blaydes snapped Almeida's 15-fight unbeaten run. It was also his first knockout loss in seven years.