Jailton Almeida and Serghei Spivac meet Saturday on the UFC 311 main card at Intuit Dome in Inglewood, Calif. Check out this quick breakdown of the matchup from MMA Junkie analyst Dan Tom.
Last event: 3-3
UFC main cards, 2024: 3-3
Jailton Almeida vs. Serghei Spivac UFC 311 preview
Almeida (21-3 MMA, 7-1 UFC) will look to keep the momentum going after a first-round submission of Alexandr Romanov at UFC 302 in June. The win followed Almeida’s first loss in the UFC, a second-round stoppage by the hammerfists of Curtis Blaydes. … Spivac (17-4 MMA, 8-4 UFC) enters in a similar situation of successfully rebounding from a loss in his last outing. In his only fight of 2024, Spivac armbarred Marcin Tybura in the first round in August, a win that followed a TKO loss to former interim champ Ciryl Gane.
Jailton Almeida vs. Serghei Spivac UFC 311 expert pick, prediction
Despite having action fights like Payton Talbott vs. Raoni Bercelos being stuck on the prelims, the UFC matchmakers can’t help themselves when it comes to force-feeding us heavyweight fights that nobody asked for – but I digress.
Getting promoted to the main card amidst the weigh-in day chaos is a heavyweight bout between Almeida and Spivac.
Heavyweight is an incredibly volatile division in an already volatile sport, and this matchup is a weird one to forecast.
Spivac is one of the few fighters at heavyweight with some semblance of a wrestling game, but the Moldovan has more of a limited sambo arsenal of takedowns that are dependent on his control of the clinch. I also believe that Spivac will be an inferior athlete to his Brazilian counterpart.
Affectionately referred to on the internet as “The Jail Man,” Almeida makes the character of Nast Nate from the film “Half Baked” look like a white belt regarding the way he can wrestle his prey to the ground. Once Almeida can establish a dominant position, the 33-year-old standout has no problem going to pound town if a submission is not available.
The pick is Almeida by knockout in Round 1.
Jailton Almeida vs. Serghei Spivac UFC 311 odds
The oddsmakers and the public are favoring the Brazilian, listing Almeida -470 and Spivac +340 via FanDuel.
Jailton Almeida vs. Serghei Spivac UFC 311 start time, how to watch
Almeida and Spivac are expected to walk to the cage at approximately 10:40 p.m. ET. The fight will stream on ESPN+.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 311.
