Thomas Almeida thinks about Garbrandt loss 'all the time,' wants spot at Nov. 19 hometown event

Before losing to Cody Garbrandt in May, Thomas Almeida was on an undefeated 20-fight, 19-finish career streak.

Almeida’s record and aggressive fighting style – a stark contrast to his quiet personality – soon captured some fan interest. At a time when Brazil was in somewhat of an octagon slump, the 25-year-old was perceived and locally promoted as a breath of fresh air.

On the other end of the Garbrandt (9-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC) matchup, another young up-and-comer with a penchant for finishes and an undefeated professional record. As many anticipated, the scrap didn’t go the distance –  with Almeida (20-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) relenting to Garbrandt’s furious hands in the first round.

After the fight, Garbrandt vaulted to the No. 7 spot in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA bantamweight rankings while Almeida holds the No. 15 spot.

It took exactly two days for Almeida to get back into the gym after the loss. Now, more than four months later, just how much has the setback changed Almeida’s training process?

“A lot,” Almeida told MMAjunkie. “So many things. I’m more focused, hungry and I’m happier in training. I now go into every training session with the same energy I had when I first started training. That hunger, that was something good that changed a lot.

“You’ll see the improvements in the next fight.”

With no return date set, Almeida has been pushing to be included on November 19’s UFC Fight Night 100 card – the promotion’s return to his hometown of Sao Paulo. But, looking at the division’s general picture, he doesn’t highlight any immediate candidates.

Not that he cares, anyway. Still choked up with his one MMA setback, Almeida’s next bout is more about himself than it is anyone else.

“I’m asking for that, but nothing’s settled yet,” Almeida said. “I really want that fight. I don’t have an opponent in mind, I just want to fight. I don’t care about the opponent. I just want to fight and erase that bout that’s stuck in my throat.

“Not a day goes by that I don’t think about (the loss). I’m thinking about it when I wake up, I go to bed thinking about it, I train thinking about it, all the time. But I can’t let it get to me. I need to see it as growth, see what’s wrong and improve and keep my eye on the goal – which is to be champion.”

And not letting it get to him, Almeida said, has been key to his recovery process. While the Brazilian bantamweight doesn’t deny just how terrible the initial impact of his first MMA loss was, he also looks to reap the benefits of being forced to do some reassessment.

“(Losing) is very sad,” Almeida said. “It’s terrible, a feeling I don’t wish upon anyone. After it’s done and you calm down, it’s different. But at that moment it’s very bad, very frustrating. It’s a sadness with myself: ‘How did I let this happen?’ I demand a lot from myself and it’s not nice, but that’s part of it.

“It’s a learning experience, as well. You learn a lot in defeat. I know because in my muay Thai career I suffered a few losses. So I know how you need to make the best of the situation and grow – have a champion’s mind and look for a goal.”

Before the setback, the defensive openings that Almeida provided with his forward-moving, almost too aggressive style had been called into question. Now, looking back, the bantamweight does believe that not keeping his cool after being tagged is one of the factors that might have cost him the fight.

Almeida said he has no excuses: he made mistakes, he got caught, he lost. Now, it’s all about keeping them from happening again.

“I could have been more calm, moved around more, not have gone for a brawl,” Almeida said.  “That’s it. See where to improve, the learning process – maybe, when I get punched a bit harder and feel it, to move more, go back to the fight, keep calm – that’s what I think lacked a bit.

“He’s a very heavy-handed guy and it landed, that was it. Could’ve been any other guy, those small MMA gloves are so slim, if it lands you fall.”

As for the factors outside the octagon, however, Almeida dismisses any part having so many eyeballs on his burgeoning MMA career might have played in the defeat.

After all, he’s always worked toward being champion. And the attention, he says, is not only natural – but welcome.

“I like (the attention),” Almeida said. “It’s what I’ve been looking for since I was 13 years old, I fight in order to be a world champion, to make it to the top and be among the best. So it didn’t hurt me. Of course, everything within reason, but it was not a problem.”

When it comes to the bigger picture of his UFC career, post-loss Almeida takes the same fight-by-fight approach that he did before.

“If you try to take a step bigger than your legs, you might tumble and the fall might be big,” Almeida said. “I think about one fight at a time. And I still feel the same way. I took a step back, but now I’ll take two, three forward. I just keep my head in place and live in the moment.”