By AG. Fight for FloCombat 

Thomas Almeida made his UFC debut in November 2014 as one of the biggest prospects coming out of Brazil.

While "Thominhas" went unbeaten as a professional fighter until 2016, he has since suffered setbacks in two of his past three fights.

In May of last year, he was defeated in his first UFC main event by now-bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt. Almeida's second defeat came in July, when the 26-year-old fighter was outpointed by Jimmie Rivera at UFC on Fox 25. For Almeida, the reason for those losses is quite simple: the level of his opposition.

"Nothing happened [that caused the defeats], the level of the fighters is different, I think that explains it all," Almeida told AG. Fight for FloCombat. "The first defeat [against Garbrandt] was by knockout. I got into the fight to start wild exchanges, but he ended up hitting me and knocked me out. You need patience. Stuff like that happens.

"That last fight [against Rivera] was a very tough, very close match. Whoever would get the judges' nod would deserve it. There is not much to think about. The level is high now. I'm fighting the best in the world."

Striving to keep competing at that level, Almeida knows that he has to improve every day in the gym, especially in a place like the UFC's bantamweight division, which went from being relatively dull to one of the most contested weight classes over the course of a few short years.

"In every fight, I need to look for evolution, to be always improving," Almeida said. "I think the sport has evolved a lot. All athletes, at least the top-level athletes who are in the top 10 -- everyone studies everyone. We know the weaknesses and strengths of the other[s], so I have to be always looking to evolve and improve. The level is very high and they're all very competitive. Even more so in my division, which, in my opinion, is one of the most dangerous UFC weight classes."

The young Brazilian, who racked up 21 consecutive wins before his first career defeat, was seen as one of the big hopes of Brazilian MMA and is still regarded as that by many. Despite all the pressure that these expectations can create, Almeida said that outside factors like that don't affect him negatively.

"I don't see this as pressure, not really," he said. "I see this as a source of motivation in my day-to-day life when I go train. This makes me able to train harder and harder. I like it. It's my fuel, it's what motivates me. What I wanted the most, ever since I started, is to be among the best in the world, to fight the best.

"I achieved that and I represent my country doing it, so I don't experience this as pressure. I experience it as something positive."