UFC 299 Prelims: Curtis Blaydes Slows Jailton Almeida’s Heavyweight Roll in Miami

Curtis Blaydes capitalized on an opponent’s overconfidence and lack of vision.

The Elevation Fight Team standout reasserted himself in the Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight division, as he took out Jailton Almeida with punches in the second round of their featured UFC 299 prelim on Saturday at the Kaseya Center in Miami. Blaydes (18-4, 13-4 UFC) pulled the plug 36 seconds into Round 2, authoring his fourth win in five appearances.

Almeida (20-3, 6-1 UFC) executed repeated takedowns and mat returns in the first round but did nothing to accrue damage in what turned out to be a meaningless exercise. Blaydes sprawled on an attempted takedown to start the middle stanza and let fly with rapid-fire hammerfists while the Brazilian stubbornly clung to his leg. Eventually, the shots took their intended toll and prompted referee Mike Beltran to intervene.

The loss was Almeida’s first since Jan. 28, 2018 and halted his run of consecutive victories at 15.

Meanwhile, a bullying clinch and timely takedowns carried Team Alpha Male’s Maycee Barber to a unanimous decision over ex-Cage Fury Fighting Championships titleholder Katlyn Cerminara in a three-round women’s flyweight clash. All three members of the cageside judiciary turned in scorecards for Barber (14-2, 9-2 UFC): 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28.

Cerminara (18-6, 11-6 UFC) enjoyed success at range but had issues controlling distance. Barber lured her into repeated clinches and unleashed all her weapons in close quarters, from knees, elbows and short punches to violent shoulder strikes and foot stomps. She upped her aggression in Round 3, where she completed a pair of takedowns to put the final touches on another triumphant performance.

Barber, 25, now finds herself on a six-fight winning streak.

Further down the undercard, former two-division KSW champion Mateusz Gamrot overcome a poor start to capture a unanimous decision over Rafael dos Anjos in a three-round lightweight altercation. Gamrot (24-2, 7-2 UFC) swept the scorecards with 29-28, 29-28 and 30-27 marks from the cageside judges.

The 39-year-old Dos Anos (32-16, 21-14 UFC) staggered the American Top Team standout with a knee strike, sprawled on an attempted takedown and clipped him with a right uppercut early in Round 1. However, Gamrot stayed composed under duress, managed to recalibrate his efforts and slowly but surely turned the tide in his favor. He secured repeated takedowns, applied occasional ground-and-pound and cut off counterattacks from dos Anjos by deploying a grimy clinch game.

Dos Anjos has lost three of his past four bouts.

Elsewhere, MMA Lab rep Kyler Phillips put together arguably the most complete performance of his career, as he outstruck onetime Resurrection Fighting Alliance champion Pedro Munhoz to a unanimous decision in a three-round bantamweight battle. All three judges scored it the same: 30-27 for Phillips (12-2, 6-1 UFC).

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Munhoz (20-9, 10-9 UFC) struggled and ultimately failed to navigate the seven-inch reach disparity with which he was presented. Phillips leaned on evasive lateral movement and creative three-, four- and five-strike combinations against the highly regarded American Top Team product. Under constant fire, Munhoz, 37, never seemed to settle on a comfortably rhythm. Phillips buckled the Brazilian with a knee strike and opened a cut near his left eye in the first round, kept his foot on the gas and overwhelmed his adversary with activity across 15 minutes.

The 28-year-old Phillips has rattled off three straight victories.

Deeper on the preliminary bill, surging Overcome Academy export Michel Pereira put Michal Oleksiejczuk to sleep with a rear-naked choke in the first round of their middleweight tilt. Oleksiejczuk (19-7, 7-5 UFC) lost his grip on consciousness 1:01 into Round 1.

The 30-year-old Pereira (30-11, 8-2 UFC) needed no time to feel out the Pole. He doubled over Oleksiejczuk with a stabbing right hand to the body, gave chase and fired a knee to the midsection. Pereira maneuvered behind the ex-Serbian Battle Championship titleholder, cinched the choke and let his squeeze do the rest.

Pereira will ride a seven-fight winning streak into his next assignment.

Finally, acclaimed Cuban taekwondo stylist Robelis Despaigne dazzled in his hotly anticipated promotional debut, as he buried two-time Dana White’s Contender Series alum Josh Parisian with punches in the first round of their heavyweight pairing. Parisian (15-8, 2-5 UFC) checked out 18 seconds into Round 1.

Despaigne (5-0, 1-0 UFC) slipped while throwing a head kick, immediately made his way back to his feet, retreated while throwing punches and sat down his opponent with a clean right hook. Follow-up shots from the 2012 Olympic bronze medalist followed, forced the dumbfounded Parisian into a submissive shell and prompted the stoppage.

The unbeaten 6-foot-7 Despaigne, 35, has finished all five of his fights inside the first round, four in less than a minute.

In other action, onetime Professional Fighters League champion Philipe Lins (18-5, 4-2 UFC) called upon repeated kicks to the lower leg in taking a unanimous verdict from Ion Cutelaba (17-10-1, 6-9-1 UFC) in a three-round light heavyweight scrap, earning 29-28 scores from the cageside judiciary; Asu Almabaev (19-2, 2-0 UFC) recorded his 15th consecutive victory with a unanimous decision over former Fury Fighting Championship titleholder C.J. Vergara (12-5-1, 3-3 UFC) in a three-round flyweight affair, drawing 30-27 marks from all three judges; and “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 20 quarterfinalist Joanne Wood (17-8, 9-8 UFC) avenged a 2015 defeat to Maryna Moroz (11-6, 6-6 UFC) and retired with a split decision—28-29, 29-28, 29-28—over the American Top Team-trained Ukrainian in a three-round women’s flyweight rematch.