Jailton Almeida showed off some surprising skills on the feet before hammering Serghei Spivac with punches on the ground to score a first-round finish at UFC 311

The Brazilian submission specialist actually had to survive an early takedown from Spivac before reversing position and showing off his grappling superiority. It was after a scramble back to the feet that Almeida blasted Spivac with punches that led to a final takedown and some devastating ground and pound that gave the referee no choice but to stop the contest.

The end came at 4:53 in the opening round.

Following the win, Almeida wasted no time calling his shot with hopes of facing a former interim champion in the near future.

“We came here to put on a show for you because you deserve it,” Almeida shouted to the Los Angeles crowd. “And Ciryl Gane stop running away, Brazil., France, wherever the hell you want.”

Spivac showed no fear taking Almeida to the ground early in the opening round but the Brazilian was doing his best to tie up the arms to prevent taking any punches. It took some time and patience but Spivac eventually broke free of Almeida’s grip and he began hammering him with huge punches and elbows.

Just when it looked like Spivac was finding success, Almeida exploded with a well-timed reversal before advancing to take the back. Almeida couldn’t hold the position as the heavyweights worked back to the feet but then he unloaded a barrage of punches that put Spivac on wobbly legs.

Rather than going for the knockout, Almeida grabbed onto a takedown and brought Spivac crashing down to the canvas. A moment later, Almeida was just blasting away with punches as Spivac could only cover up with the referee rushing in to save him from further harm.

Since suffering his only loss in the UFC to Curtis Blaydes in early 2024, Almeida has bounced back with a pair of first-round finishes and he’s looking to continue his climb up the heavyweight ranks when he returns to action later this year.