Almeida speaks out on Anderson Silva's view of Brazilian MMA

Brazilian MMA's next big thing has somehow escaped the notice of the country's greatest fighter.

At a press conference in March to promote UFC 198, former middleweight champion Anderson Silva painted a grim picture of the state of MMA in Brazil, listing off only a few names that he viewed as future titleholders.

Thomas Almeida was not one of those names.

The 24-year-old bantamweight is 21-0 in his career with knockout wins in three of his four UFC bouts. He is widely regarded as a rising contender, so his omission from Silva's appraisal was noticeable to say the least.

Almeida remained respectful of the fighting legend when asked about the situation.

"What Anderson Silva may say doesn't affect me," Almeida told MMAjunkie. "I know my own worth, where I want to get, my willpower, my objective, and why I fight. I fight for my fans, for the Brazilian people, for my team, and for my family. I'm confident I'll reach my goals. It just makes me sad to see comments like that.

"Anderson represented our country very well in the UFC. I think he may still have the record for the most title defenses. As a great icon, he should give a good example. He should encourage other fighters to work harder to reach championship status in the world's greatest organization. I know that we Brazilians are giving our best to represent the green-and-yellow flag. We will have other belts, and keep the ones we have."

This Sunday, Almeida competes in his first UFC main event against Cody Garbrandt at UFC Fight Night 88 in Las Vegas.