Overview
- Almeida’s release was first reported by Laerte Viana and confirmed by MMA Fighting, MMA Junkie and ESPN after his unanimous-decision loss to Rizvan Kuniev at UFC Vegas 113 on short notice.
- He exits as the UFC’s No. 8-ranked heavyweight with an 8-3 promotional record and a 22-5 professional mark, having logged a high finish rate and wins over Derrick Lewis, Jairzinho Rozenstruik, Serghei Spivac and Alexandr Romanov.
- His managers had informed the promotion he intended to drop back to light heavyweight next, a plan that will now need to unfold outside the UFC.
- The defeat to Kuniev followed a split-decision loss to Alexander Volkov in October, with recent bouts drawing criticism for low output, including 31 significant strikes vs. Kuniev and minimal damage against Volkov.
- The cut continues a broader roster shake-up at heavyweight, with other recent releases including Jairzinho Rozenstruik, Alexandr Romanov and Martin Buday, and it drew mixed reactions across the MMA community.