The MMA Daily

We have a scrap at a Catchweight of 220 pounds, as Jailton Almeida welcomes UFC newcomer Anton Turkalj. One of the best prospects in the UFC, Almeida has already crushed two opponents in the UFC. Carrying an eleven fight win streak into this fight, Almeida has big things on the horizon should he win. Meanwhile, Turkalj steps into his UFC debut with a perfect 8-0 record. Having fought for Brave FC recently, Turkalj has built up a reputation as a pure finisher. Which is evident by seven of his eight of wins coming inside the distance.

With both men bringing forth high finishing rates into this fight, expect this bout to be rather short, but highly entertaining. Turkalj may flash with his striking, but his grappling is something to watch out for. A four-time IMMAF medalist, Turkalj has proven to be dangerous on the ground. However, Almeida is elite on the ground. Notching his tenth submission victory against Parker Porter, Almeida’s physicality and grappling have proven to be hard to overcome for most. While his striking needs some fine tuning, Almeida is quick, explosive and features a dangerous front kick. The only concern I have for the Brazilian, is his striking defense. Not looking to avoid being hit, Almeida has an unbelievable low significant striking defense of 12%. Meaning, Almeida has been hit on 82% of his opponents significant strikes. Something which may catch up to him against the right opponent, but not in this fight. So with that said, I predict Almeida to win TKO.