In a heartwarming gesture, “Malhadinho” took on Alvaro Borges, an athlete with Down syndrome in an charity exhibition MMA bout under the Demo Fight banner on Saturday in Salvador, Brazil.
“I’m very happy to be part of this event and help Alvaro’s dream come true of fighting MMA again,” Almeida told MMAFighting.com before the bout.
Borges earned a second-round submission win over Almeida, handing the Brazilian his first loss since 2018. Demo Fight founder Demistocles Brito revealed that he books special fights on almost every card out of love for his autistic nephew.
“Demo Fight’s goal is to not only reveal new talents, but also promote inclusion,” Brito told MMAFighting.com.
Almeida has been victorious in his last 15 professional appearances, a streak that includes six UFC outings. Most recently, he earned a unanimous decision triumph over Derrick Lewis in the UFC Fight Night 231 main event, his only career win to go the distance. The Brazilian is now slated to face Curtis Blaydes at UFC 299 on March 9 at the Kaseya Center in Miami.