lot of people told me he was running from me. I said, ‘He’s not running.’ I know that because he’s an athlete, and injuries happen,” Almeida said. “I’m happy we’ll be fighting in Brazil and that this fight didn’t get canceled because there’s a whole preparation I have to do for fight week and then if the fight gets canceled on short notice, it’s hard.”
The cancellations with Abdurakhimov didn’t throw Almeida off his game, though, as he chose to fight Anton Turkalj, who stepped in for Abdurakhimov at UFC 279.
View Almeida’s Athlete Profile
Almeida submitted Turkalj in the first round of that bout, extending his UFC win and first-round finish streak to a perfect 3-0. Almeida would love to keep that streak alive at UFC 283, but he’s expecting Abdurakhimov to be his biggest test to date.
“I’ve had three UFC wins in the first round. So, I’m ready to fight three rounds. He’s also coming to fight three rounds, so I’m ready for everything,” Almeida said. “Shamil is a very experienced guy; everyone knows that. Even though he’s coming off three losses, he’s beaten a former world champion in Andrei Arlovski. So, it won’t be an easy fight for me. It won’t be easy, and I have to be ready for all possible scenarios.”
