Summary
Durinho promotes UFC event. Photo: Reproduction/Facebook/UFC
Previously, Gilbert Durinho lamented Jailton Malhadinho 's lack of aggression in his loss to Rizvan Kuniev at UFC Vegas 113 and criticized the fight held last Saturday (7), but now he has gone further. The experienced athlete, who knows like few others how the organization operates behind the scenes, fears that his compatriot will be harmed.
So much so that, on his official YouTube channel, Durinho candidly expressed concern about Malhadinho's future in the UFC. It's worth noting that the heavyweight (up to 120,2 kg) fighter, with two consecutive losses, is experiencing the worst moment of his career. To make matters worse, the athlete didn't attack Alexander Volkov and Kuniev as expected, much less cause damage, and was harshly criticized.
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Despite the poor results, Malhadinho revealed that he renewed his contract after agreeing to fight an unranked athlete, therefore the chance of being cut is minimal. In any case, given his current history and increasing scrutiny, Durinho issued an important warning to the fighter from Bahia, encouraging him to change his approach before and during the fight to be more appealing to the UFC and the fans.
“Bad situation. He came off a loss to Volkov, a boring fight that everyone complained about. He had another loss that was so boring, it could have gone to anyone. The situation now is complicated because, nowadays, the sport is at a level where it's not just about winning anymore. It's entertainment, Paramount Plus, social media. Is the video boring, hasn't he said anything? There has to be a pause, a hook to stop him ,” said the veteran.
“Nowadays, Jean Silva has his own personality, his craziness, he fights well, he barks, all of that is to make people want to know more about him, to generate interest. That helps you and brings in more fans to sell. Now, when the fight is boring, it was bad and the other one was also bad, you don't speak English… I think he got into a very complicated situation for several reasons. Even more so with how the heavyweight division is and how he's delivering the fight. It's not the most difficult, most impossible division, on the contrary. I think the light heavyweight and heavyweight divisions have a clear path, the path is easier.”
“Now, going to the lightweight and welterweight divisions, it’s incredibly difficult, but at bantamweight, it’s a struggle. So, the situation has become complicated, very complicated. I think now the UFC is going to take him, put him on ice, and shut him down. He’ll be there for a long time, it will take a while for him to get a fight. When they do give him a fight, I don’t think it will be an easy one. The UFC will try to give him another tough opponent, so he can do like Bautista, prove that he understands the game and that now he’s going to fight aggressively, that he’s going to strike ,” he concluded.
Malhadinho's MMA Fighters
Jailton Malhadinho , 34, is a heavyweight fighter in the UFC and is ranked eighth. The Brazilian began his MMA career in 2012 and debuted in the UFC's biggest organization in 2022.
In his career, the Bahia native built a record of 22 wins, 21 of them by stoppage (13 by submission and 8 by knockout), and five losses. His main victories were over Derrick Lewis , Jairzinho Rozenstruik , and Serghei Spivac.
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