Blaydes destroys Almeida with hammerfists, calls for Aspinall rematch

Curtis Blaydes knocked out Jailton Almeida at the 0:36 mark of the second round in a heavyweight bout at UFC 299 on Saturday night at Kaseya Center in Miami.

Blaydes stuffed a takedown attempt and started raining down hammerfists on the side of Almeida's head. Moments later, Almeida slumped to the canvas, and the referee stepped in.

Blaydes handed Almeida his first UFC loss and snapped the Brazilian's 15-fight winning streak.

After the victory, Blaydes, the No. 5-ranked heavyweight, called for a rematch with interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall. Blaydes defeated Aspinall via a 15-second injury TKO in July 2022.

"I believe Aspinall and I have some unfinished business," Blaydes said in his postfight interview. "I'd like to get that one next. That's my next fight."

Almeida dominated Blaydes in the first round with his grappling, taking him to the mat less than a minute into the fight and securing a total of nine takedowns.

Blaydes got back on track after suffering a knockout loss to Sergei Pavlovich last April. "Razor" is 4-1 in his five Octagon appearances.

Almeida started his UFC run with six straight wins, five of which were stoppages. The 32-year-old was coming off a unanimous decision victory over former title challenger Derrick Lewis in the UFC Sao Paulo main event last November.