Altamirano came out on the happy side of a split decision verdict in his Dana White’s Contender Series battle with Carlos Candelario, but landed on the opposite end of things in his promotional debut against Carlos Hernandez six months later in his promotional debut, leaving him with a sour taste in his mouth heading into his sophomore appearance last summer in Salt Lake City.
After getting touched up a little in the opening moments of his UFC 278 bout with Daniel Lacerda, Altamirano quickly rallied, going on the offensive and securing a ground-and-pound stoppage win for his first UFC victory. This weekend, the 32-year-old Mexican veteran lands opposite newcomer and fellow DWCS alum Vinicius Salvador in an early preliminary card contest in San Antonio, looking for a second straight win.
Despite having fewer fights than Salvador, the taekwondo stylist has fought a stronger strength of schedule over the course of his career compared to his 26-year-old counterpart, having spent his entire career competing under the LFA banner (save for one fight) prior to arriving in the UFC, earning solid wins and claiming the promotion’s flyweight title.
This isn’t the first time that he’s been penciled in to share the cage with Salvador, as the two were initially slated to face off in the fall of 2021 on the Contender Series before the Brazilian was forced to withdraw, so it will be interesting to see how that familiarity and his comfort in the Octagon play into things, as this will be Salvador’s first UFC appearance. The Brazilian fights long, but Altamirano has a comparable reach and does a good job of managing distance with his arsenal of kicks and is the far more polished of the two.
Making headway in the flyweight division is difficult these days as the depth of talent in the 125-pound ranks continues to grow, but a second consecutive victory — and a second straight finish — would certainly go a long way to helping carry Altamirano further up the divisional ladder.