UFC London’s Felipe Franco promises entertainment after teammate Jailton Almeida’s release: ‘They want to see blood’

Felipe Franco makes his octagon debut Saturday in London against undefeated heavyweight Mario Pinto in the preliminary portion of UFC London, and he hopes to start his career with an impressive showing.

A teammate of Jailton Almeida at Galpão da Luta in Brazil, Franco felt that UFC’s decision to release his friend after consecutive decision defeats to Rizvan Kuniev and Alexander Volkov was a bit too harsh, yet a sign of times to come with new finishing bonuses and a “pressure” to deliver non-stop excitement on Paramount+.

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“That’s what the UFC wants now, especially after this deal with Paramount,” Franco told MMA Fighting. “They want entertainment. They want to see blood, they want to see people throwing down, and that’s exactly what we’re going to deliver.”

Almeida has moved on from the UFC to sign with Russian promotion ACA, and Franco still feels his departure was undeserving.

“What happened to ‘Malhadinho’ was unfair, in my opinion, considering everything he did in the organization,” Franco said. “Since the Contender Series, he’s always been very aggressive, finishing fights convincingly, and those last two performances don’t define who he is. I think the UFC might be under some pressure, I don’t know, but sometimes they act on impulse, and unfortunately they released him.”

“But I believe he’ll come back strong,” he added. “He signed with ACA and is going to dominate that division there. Now it’s on us to carry on in the UFC. ‘Malhadinho’ is an inspiration to me, so I’m going there to represent as well. … It’s always been his dream to become a UFC champion. He might have a few fights in ACA, get the UFC’s attention again, and come back. Or maybe not. I believe ‘Malhadinho’ is financially comfortable right now, so he’s in a good place.”

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“Negão” also fluctuates between two divisions like his friend Almeida, able to fight at both 205 pounds and heavyweight, and brings a 10-1 record to his UFC debut with all wins coming by way of knockout or submission. He had the chance to join the UFC through Dana White’s Contender Series this past September but saw many opponents come and go before he ultimately faced Freddy Vidal, losing by knockout late in the third round.

“Negão” rebounded with a pair of finishes on the Brazilian circuit to receive a call to replace Mick Parkin against Pinto in London.

“I got the opportunity to fight on the Contender Series and it was a very good experience despite the loss,” Franco said. “We stayed firm in our goal, which was to get into the UFC. Being there and experiencing everything the UFC offers an athlete just made me want it even more.”

The 25-year-old Brazilian said he has re-watched the DWCS defeat and wasted no time fixing the mistakes in the gym to come back a better athlete, aiming to show his evolution Saturday in London.

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“He’s a good fighter. I’m not going to lie to you, he’s good,” Franco said of Pinto. “We studied his game a lot. But he’s not unbeatable. Actually, nobody is unbeatable. He has a lot of holes in his game that we’ve analyzed, a lot of patterns he repeats. He’s very intense on the feet and has a solid ground game, but I don’t think he’ll want to grapple with me. We’ve studied him, and there will be surprises on Saturday. I’ll be the one coming out on top.”