César Almeida (fighter)

César Almeida (born March 28, 1988), is a Brazilian kickboxer and mixed martial artist who competes in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He also competed in Glory and Superkombat Fighting Championship. Almeida is a former Superkombat Light Heavyweight Plus Champion.

As of January 2023, he was ranked as the second best middleweight kickboxer in the world by Beyond Kickboxing and as the third best middleweight in the world by Combat Press.

Kickboxing career

Early career

Almeida took part in the 2013 WGP Kickboxing Cruiserweight tournament, held at WGP Kickboxing 17 on December 21, 2013. He was booked to face Cristian Torres in the semifinals of the one-day tournament. Almeida won the fight by a second-round knockout and advanced to the finals, where he faced Alex Pereira. He won the fight by decision.

Almeida fought a trilogy bout with Alex Pereira, with the WGP Kickboxing Cruiserweight championship on the line, at WGP Kickboxing 25 on July 25, 2015. He lost the fight by unanimous decision.

Superkombat Light Heavyweight Plus Champion

César faced Moises Baute for the SUPERKOMBAT Light Heavyweight Plus championship and the WKN International Kickboxing oriental rules title at SUPERKOMBAT World Grand Prix II 2016 on May 7, 2016. He won the fight by unanimous decision. He extended his win streak to three fights with a second round stoppage of Guilherme Gimenez at WGP Kickboxing 33 on September 10, 2016.

Almeida took part in the WGP Kickboxing Heavyweight (-94.1 kg) tournament, which was held at WGP Kickboxing 34 on November 1, 2016. He was able to overcome Ricardo Soneca in the semifinals of the one-day tournament by a second-round knockout and advanced to the finals, where he suffered a decision loss to Haime Morais.

Almeida faced Marcelo Nuñez at WGP Kickboxing 36 on April 7, 2017. He won the fight by unanimous decision.

Almeida faced Lucas Alsina for the WGP Kickboxing Cruiserweight (85 kg) championship at WGP Kickboxing 50 on October 27, 2018. He beat Alsina by a fourth round knockout, managing to stop his opponent through repeated low kicks.

After capturing his fourth piece of professional silverware, Alemida would go on to fight in two non-title bouts. Almeida was first booked to face Hao Guanghua at MAS Fight on November 10, 2018. He won the fight by stoppage. Alemida next faced Lucas Dallapico at Premier Fight League on February 23, 2019. He won the fight by a second-round technical knockout.

Almeida made his first WGP Kickboxing Cruiserweight title defense against Ivan Galaz at WGP Kickboxing 54 on May 24, 2019. He retained the title by a decision draw.

Almeida faced Sergey Veselkin in his Fair Fight debut at Fair Fight IX on July 8, 2019. He lost the fight by decision, after an extra fourth round was contested. Almeida faced Igor Bugaenko in his second appearance with the promotion at Fair Fight X on October 26, 2019. He won the fight by an extra round decision.

Glory

Almeida made his Glory debut against Donovan Wisse at Glory Collision 2 on December 21, 2019. Wisse won the fight by majority decision.

Almeida made his second WGP Kickboxing Cruiserweight title defense against Ivan Galaz at WGP Kickboxing 66 on September 3, 2022, following a three-year break from the sport of kickboxing. He won the fight by a first-round knockout.

Almeida faced the #1 ranked Glory middleweight contender Serkan Ozcaglayan at Glory: Collision 4 on October 8, 2022. He won the fight by a dominant unanimous decision, with all five judges awarding him a 29–26 scorecard.

Almeida was expected to challenge the Glory Middleweight (-85 kg) champion Donovan Wisse at Glory 83 on February 11, 2023. The bout was a rematch of their first meeting, that took place on December 21, 2019, and which Wisse won by majority decision. The fight was downgraded to a three round non-title bout however, as Almeida missed weight by one kilogram at the official weigh-ins. Almeida lost the fight by unanimous decision.

Mixed martial arts career

Almeida made his return to mixed martial arts against the LFA Middleweight champion Lucas Fernando on the seventh season of the DWCS on August 8, 2023. He won the fight by unanimous decision and was awarded a contract with the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Almeida was scheduled to face Christian Leroy Duncan on November 18, 2023 at UFC Fight Night 232. However, he was pulled out from the event for medical reasons.

Almeida was scheduled to face Josh Fremd on April 6, 2024, at UFC Fight Night 240. However, Fremd withdrew from the event for unknown reasons and he was replaced by Dylan Budka. Almeida won in his UFC debut via technical knockout in the second round. This fight earned him the Performance of the Night award.

Almeida faced Roman Kopylov on June 1, 2024 at UFC 302. He lost the bout by split decision.

Championships and accomplishments

Kickboxing

• SUPERKOMBAT Fighting Championship
  • 2016 SUPERKOMBAT Light Heavyweight Plus (-86 kg) Championship
• World Kickboxing Network
  • 2016 WKN International Oriental Rules Super Light Heayvweight (-85 kg) Championship
• World Association of Kickboxing Organizations
  • 2014 WAKO Pro Brazilian Light Cruiserweight (-85 kg) K-1 Rules Championship
• WGP Kickboxing
  • 2013 WGP Kickboxing Cruiserweight (-85 kg) Tournament Winner
  • 2018 WGP Kickboxing Cruiserweight (-85 kg) Championship
• Brazilian Kickboxing Federation
  • 2013 Brazil National -81 kg Kickboxing Championship

Mixed martial arts

• Ultimate Fighting Championship
  • Performance of the Night (One time) vs. Dylan Budka

Mixed martial arts record

Kickboxing record

See also

• List of current UFC fighters
• List of male kickboxers

References

External links

• Official Glory profile