Eduarda Moura, a professional fighter with three years of experience, remains patient in her flyweight career while expressing strong confidence that her teammate Jailton Almeida will soon challenge Tom Aspinall for the UFC heavyweight title. Moura believes Almeida’s consistent winning streak and skills position him perfectly to claim championship gold, either by defeating Aspinall or possibly Alexander Volkov in an upcoming fight.
Almeida’s Recent Success and Potential Title Shot
Since joining the UFC in 2022, Jailton Almeida has won eight out of nine fights, finishing all but one of his opponents. He was hopeful to face Tom Aspinall next, especially following Jon Jones’ retirement, but the UFC has not yet announced Aspinall’s next adversary. Moura considers it unnecessary for Ciryl Gane to be given another title opportunity, given his past struggles against former champions Jones and Francis N’Gannou.
Moura’s Confidence in Almeida’s Preparation for Aspinall
According to Moura, Aspinall will present the greatest challenge of Almeida’s career, but the extra time before their potential match will help Almeida reach peak readiness. She believes this preparation period is beneficial for Almeida’s growth and ultimate success in capturing the belt.
“There’s nothing else to be done,” —Eduarda Moura, Fighter
“He will fight someone now, maybe Volkov, whoever shows up, but the next one you can’t deny him a shot at the belt. There’s nowhere to go. Where else should ‘Malhadinho’ go? He belongs at the top and I truly believe he will get there. We’re cool, he’s also cool. We know he will get there so he’s in no hurry, you know? There’s nowhere to go now, just wait.” —Eduarda Moura, Fighter
“I believe ‘Malhadinho’ will be much better prepared for Aspinall because Aspinall will be the toughest fight of ‘Malhadilho’s’ career, of his entire life,” —Eduarda Moura, Fighter
“I believe it’s good that he has this time to work and evolve and get to his 100 percent when he fights Aspinall, and God willing bring us the belt.” —Eduarda Moura, Fighter
Prediction of Submission Victory Over Aspinall
Moura envisions Almeida relying on his wrestling and jiu-jitsu to secure a submission victory against Aspinall, who has never been submitted in the past decade. She expects Almeida will quickly take Aspinall down, minimizing the damage from his powerful striking.
“I think ‘Malhadinho’ takes him down and catches him, for sure,” —Eduarda Moura, Fighter
“Aspinall is dangerous, everybody knows that. He’s fast and has heavy hands, so I believe ‘Malhadinho’ will go for the takedown early — as he always does, as he loves doing. I hope he takes him down and catches him quickly so our hearts don’t suffer too much [laughs].” —Eduarda Moura, Fighter
Moura’s Upcoming Fight and Reflection on Weight Class
While Almeida awaits his next opponent, Moura is preparing to face former title contender Lauren Murphy at UFC Nashville in Tennessee. She recently won her flyweight debut and feels relieved to no longer endure extreme weight cuts, which affected her previous performance, including a narrow loss to Denise Gomes in June 2024.
“The only — and I hope only — loss of my career happened, and [the weight cut] affected me a lot,” —Eduarda Moura, Fighter
“I couldn’t sleep for three nights, I fell ill before the face off. That weight cut was brutal. It was a learning experience for me to rethink that matter. There’s no need. I’m strong at flyweight. I could even fight at 135, but my flyweight is my true division.” —Eduarda Moura, Fighter
Moura’s Strategy Against Lauren Murphy and Thoughts on Flyweight
Moura anticipates Murphy’s experience will make the fight challenging initially, but she believes her grappling will eventually overcome Murphy’s striking. A win would improve Moura’s flyweight record to 2-0 and strengthen her resolve toward a title run in this division. Moura also comments on the challenges of the strawweight division compared to flyweight.
“I’m a big fan of Weili Zhang,” —Eduarda Moura, Fighter
“She’s someone that I’ve alway thought would be the toughest fight in the world, so since I left that division… [Valentina] Shevchenko is also tough, but I trust Weili Zhang’s potential more. That Chinese is a badass. I would be more apprehensive of fighting her in a title fight than Shevchenko. That’s why I think strawweight would be tougher, because of that Chinese.” —Eduarda Moura, Fighter
Potential Flyweight Superfight with Weili Zhang
Although there is speculation about Weili Zhang moving up to flyweight for a superfight with Valentina Shevchenko, Moura doubts Zhang will leave strawweight but is ready to face her if the opportunity arises.
“She won’t come up. She will stay quiet down there,” —Eduarda Moura, Fighter
“But if she comes, there’s nothing we can do. We’ll have to do what we do. I hope to be ready when I get there [laughs].” —Eduarda Moura, Fighter