Lucas Almeida: Revamped and Reinvigorated

Lucas Almeida looks at losses as lessons—an approach that could serve him well moving forward in the Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweight division.

The former Jungle Fight champion will strap on the gloves for the first time in more than eight months when he faces Danny Silva as part of the UFC Fight Night 253 undercard on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Almeida’s brief run on the roster has been a rollercoaster of sorts, complete with setbacks, cancellations and injuries. Out of the adversity rose rediscovered aggression.

“In life, everything we go through is necessary to make us stronger,” he told Sherdog.com. “Those experiences made me into a better athlete, man and father. It had to happen. My career had always been brilliant, full of knockout and submission wins. I’m going back to that. I’ve evolved.”

Almeida, 34, last suited up at UFC on ESPN 58, where he rebounded from back-to-back losses to Pat Sabatini and Andre Fili with a unanimous decision over Timothy Cuamba in their three-round clash on June 15. It was fraught with difficulty, as he conceded two takedowns and more than two minutes of control time to Cuamba but still outstruck him by a 91-73 margin. Almeida also managed to floor the Xtreme Couture rep with a clean one-two in the first round.

“I was holding back because I was cautious after losing two in a row,” he said, “but this time around, I’m confident I’ll fully be able to let my game flow.”

Silva figures to be a willing dance partner. The once-beaten Cub Swanson protégé has rattled off three straight victories to improve to 9-1. Silva made his promotional debut on March 16, when he was awarded split scorecards against Joshua Culibao in their three-round battle at UFC Fight Night 239.

“Danny has great boxing skills,” Almeida said. “He comes from a Mexican background. We brought in several skilled boxers for my training camp. I studied him extensively. Now I’m focused on what I do. I’ve been working on my combinations. My coaches keep telling me how I’m both improving as a fighter and becoming physically stronger.

“I’m going to have a great performance against Danny,” he added. “I don’t see this fight going to the scorecards. I’m going to win by knockout. I want to show the fans that I’m aggressive, determined and focused. I never stop training. All my fights will be wars. I’m ready to face anyone.”

If nothing else, Almeida hopes his showdown with Silva leads to a busier schedule.

“I’m always training and always on weight,” he said. “I want to compete more. As soon as I’m done with this fight, I’d like to come back no more than three months later. In the end, it’s the UFC that decides how often we fight, but I plan to be more insistent about a quick return.”