Breakout fighters for 2016: Thomas Almeida
It should be a very fun year in the Ultimate Fighting Championship's bantamweight division.
Champion T.J. Dillashaw will defend the title against former champ Dominick Cruz on Sunday in Boston and Urijah Faber, who already has history with both fighters, awaits the winner.
Thomas Almeida is not too far behind the group at the top.
The 24-year-old stands poised for a huge 2016 and is the second fighter to earn a spot on our list of breakout candidates for the new year.
Almeida, a native of Sao Paulo, Brazil, has already amassed a 20-0 record since turning pro at the end of 2011. He has stormed on the scene with four straight wins, including three by knockout, since signing with the UFC.
He has earned performance-of-the-night bonus checks for each of the three finishes and took home a fight-of-the-night check for his unanimous decision victory over Tim Gorman in his UFC debut.
His style suggests he will be taking home a whole lot more of those bonuses in the future.
In fact, Gorman is the only fighter to go the distance with Almeida. who never let an opponent out of the first round in his first 14 pro fights.
It's not like he's picking on weak competition, either. Almeida has wins over Yves Jabouin and Brad Pickett on his resume.
Still, he's near the bottom of the top 10 list in the division and has yet to get a true showcase opportunity that could take him to the next level.
Perhaps the most frightening thing for the rest of the 135-pound division, apart from the fact he's still improving, is that Almeida's game about far more than just power.
He's extremely sound fundamentally and often stays compact while delivering knockout blows.
This could very well be the year Almeida makes a huge jump in the UFC.
That's what makes him the second of CoveringTheCage.com's potential breakout stars for 2016.
Contact reporter Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5509. Follow him on Twitter: @adamilllvrj
