Jailton Almeida hopes third time’s charm for Gane callout

INGLEWOOD, Calif. – Jailton Almeida knows what he wants, and he knows how to ask for it.

The problem has been, he just hasn’t gotten the right answer on that request yet. Still, after a bonus-winning knockout at UFC 311 on Saturday, the Brazilian decided he should call out former interim heavyweight champion Ciryl Gane one more time.

“This is a guy that I’ve called out a couple of times,” Almeida said at the UFC 311 post-fight news conference. “He’s been a guy who’s always been at the top of the rankings, been out there with the interim title. I’ve called him out like three times. So I guess it’s time to fight. I don’t know what I have to. I’m going to have to ask the UFC if I have to buy a ticket to go after him.”

Almeida (22-3 MMA, 8-1 UFC) took out Serghei Spivac (17-5 MMA, 8-5 UFC) with a quick first-round TKO at UFC 311 and won a $50,000 bonus. Gane (13-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC) has back-to-back wins over Spivac and Alexander Volkov. The latter came at UFC 310 in December – and was a solid candidate for Robbery of the Year.

In fact, Almeida thinks Gane lost the fight to Volkov, even though the judges gave him a split call.

“I think 99 percent of the population of this world thinks the same thing, so I’m not alone. I think he lost the fight,” Almeida said. “I can’t believe that the judges scored the way they did – I don’t know if there was some sort of apologies afterward. I don’t know how that happened, but everybody thinks that he lost that fight.”

Gane, one theory goes, is going to sit back and wait to see what happens between heavyweight champion Jon Jones and interim champ Tom Aspinall. If they fight to unify the belts, Gane no doubt would like the winner.

But in the meantime, Almeida thinks Gane should stay busy against him.

“This whole Aspinall-Jones thing, we hope it’s going to happen. I hope the UFC is going to put the thing together,” Almeida said. “Cyril Gane is the only guy, the only name that I’ve been calling for. This is the third time I’m here in a press conference with the media afterward asking for it. I don’t care where it is, how it happens – in Brazil, in France, whatever. I’ll go to him. Let’s make it happen.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 311.