Thomas Almeida was hoping to make his comeback at home, but he might have to wait.

Almeida (21-3 MMA, 5-3 UFC), who’s been sidelined due to an eye injury, was recently cleared for full-contact training and was targeting the UFC 250 card in his hometown of Sao Paulo before the coronavirus outbreak hit.

With the UFC postponing three events and scrambling to make UFC 249 happen due to global travel bans, the May 9 card in Sao Paulo may be in jeopardy, too.

“I’m 100 percent – I’m feeling great and I’m back in full training since December 2019,” Almeida told MMA Junkie. “(I’m) sparring once a week and everything – ready to go.

“May 9 is what I want, and me and my manager have been talking to (matchmaker) Sean Shelby and the UFC every week, and I know they are looking for a fight for me. Unfortunately for this virus situation, we don’t know what is going to happen. (The) only thing I know, UFC is working hard to find a way to solve this whole situation. We have to wait a little bit longer. No problem at all.”

The once undefeated prospect hasn’t competed since January 2018. After a 4-0 start to his UFC tenure, Almeida has lost three of his past four. But his biggest battle was an eye injury he suffered that has kept him out of action.

He was briefly linked to a bout with Cory Sandhagen in January 2019, then slated to face Marlon Vera at UFC 235 about a year ago, but was forced out of both.

“(There were) no easy times, especially the first few months. But ups and downs are part of athletes’ life, and being healthy is the most important thing,” Almeida said. “But we have to overcome difficult situations with the mind of a champion, be patient and trust the process, and that’s what I learned as a martial artist, and that’s what I put into practice in my personal life. And the beauty of it all is that I have room for improvement, and I’m still 28 with a huge will power. I can’t wait for my comeback.”

The Chute Boxe Diego Lima product has been getting new looks in the past year, spending a lot of time training at Xtreme Couture and the UFC Performance Institute. Never shying away from a fight, the performance bonus machine is open to facing any top-tier bantamweight.

“I have no specific name – I’ll fight anyone,” Almeida said. “(Sean) O’Malley just got back. John Dodson has no fight yet. Alejandro Perez would be a great fight, too. The kid from the U.K., Nathaniel Wood, said he wants to fight me years ago on the Internet – let’s go. Let’s see want UFC has for me.”

Currently in Las Vegas, Almeida is doing everything he can to stay in shape during the global pandemic as he edges closer to a return.

“Everything is lockdown right now – all businesses are closed, and we must stay home. This is a big move to stop this epidemic,” Almeida said. “It changes completely my schedule – no gym, no training partners. I’ve been training at home, running alone, shadow boxing. I’ve got some weights and rubber bands at home that’s helping me a lot to stay busy. (It’s) only difficult to keep my diet clear. I love ice cream, and it’s hard to keep me out of it full time at home.”