Jailton Almeida’s Nickname: Why Is the UFC Heavyweight Called ‘Malhadinho’?

Jailton Almeida, who has a record of 21-3-0, is set to butt heads in UFC 311 against Moldovan star Sergey Spivak. The Brazilian fighter has had his share of hardships and had to endure sacrifices, but came back each time, making full use of the opportunities that came his way. Born on June 28, 1991, he was an athlete through and through and wanted to be a soccer player. Since his father was a boxer, he grew up around combat sports and made the transition when pursuing a soccer career proved to be too expensive.

The BJJ Blackbelt is a well-rounded MMA fighter and has been training since he was six years old. But he has had his hardships as well, which he carries from his childhood. His career in MMA has had a lot of contributions from his father. Even the nickname ‘Malhadinho’, announced when he stands in the Octagon, has a family history. Let’s see the special origins of his nickname and how he became one of the most renowned fighters in the UFC.

Origin of Jailton Almeida’s Brazilian nickname, ‘Malhadinho’

Jailton Almeida grew up in Brazil and looked up to his father, Jailton ‘Malhado’, who was a boxer and competed in Salvador Bahia. Not only that, but his uncle was a boxer as well, along with his older brother Alexander. The heavyweight fighter grew up around boxers and got his basic training from his family members. Even though he was surrounded by people who were combat sports athletes, the lean teenager had an attraction towards soccer and wanted to be a goalkeeper since he was talented at that position.

Surprisingly, the supporter of Salvador’s Esporte Club Victoria decided to try out and apply for the spot on the youth team, even getting selected. Unfortunately, he did not have a manager, and to get one, he needed to shell out R$10,000 ($1647). Sadly, his father could not afford it. Hence, Jailton Almeida had to give up on his dreams of becoming a soccer player, instead, he decided to focus on boxing and Jiu Jitsu, which he learned for free since his father was a coach at his school.

This prompted his dad and coach to ask him to try mixed martial arts, which ultimately changed Jailton Almeida’s life. Unfortunately, disaster struck the same year he began his pro-MMA career when his older brother disappeared in 2012. He has not met or spoken to his brother since then, and they have lost all hope of finding him again.

He fought one obstacle after the other, proving his mettle every single time to his father. This is how his coach decided to nickname him ‘Malhadinho’. As a boxer, his coach nicknamed him Malhado and decided to call him ‘Malhadinho’, which means ‘little Malhado’. His father was his first coach and made the biggest contribution to bringing him into the MMA world.

After that, it took Jailton Almeida three years to enter the sport of MMA cage fighting. However, he was not paid his dues and had to look for other jobs. He even told MMA fighters, “One time I had to take money out of my pocket to travel and fight. I put my head on the pillow one night and said, ‘I can’t do this anymore.’ I was working as a security guard and had to pay for someone else to cover my shift so I could travel and get punched in the face for free, or even pay to get punched in the face. I wasn’t expecting to sign with the UFC after a win or anything like that; it was a long road ahead, so I stopped.”

Undoubtedly, Almeida’s father was pivotal in his MMA journey. Let’s take a closer look at the father-son duo who were also master-apprentice in a journey of professional mixed martial arts.

Almeida’s father brought him into MMA

Jailton Almeida started training under his father at the age of six, and the rest is history. He also always pays tribute to his home country by wearing yellow to represent the flag of Brazil. The fighter also had to stop his fighting career many times due to a lack of money and even worked at the local gym to start making money, but missed punching people inside the cage.

Jailton Almeida’s manager, Leo Pateira, could not bear to see this and told him not to give up, so he returned to the MMA once later. However, he lost to Tyago Moreira, which again left him devastated. He even mentioned once, “My father is a former boxer, and I’ve been doing sports since I was six years old. I started doing jiu-jitsu at age 11, and in 2012 I made my MMA debut.”

The aspect that made him unique was that his father was a boxer and his first coach, so just like his father, the son followed in his footsteps, earning his BJJ black belt in 2018. Ultimately, he became a pro fighter in 2021 and was offered a UFC contract after winning Dana White’s Contender Series 39. Jailton Almeida also made an impressive promotional debut against Danilo Marques in 2022.

Jailton Almeida has lost just one fight under the UFC banner, and with a win in his last fight, he hopes to keep the momentum going. Let us know your thoughts on his upcoming fight against Serghei Spivac at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood.