César Almeida

César Almeida de Oliveira (born 28 March 1988) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist and former kickboxer who currently competes in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). In kickboxing he competed in Glory, WGP Kickboxing and Superkombat.

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 21 December 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 Pereira, with the WGP Kickboxing Cruiserweight championship on the line, at WGP Kickboxing 25 on 25 July 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 7 May 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 10 September 2016.

Almeida took part in the WGP Kickboxing Heavyweight (-94.1 kg) tournament, which was held at WGP Kickboxing 34 on 1 November 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 7 April 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 27 October 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 10 November 2018. He won the fight by stoppage. Alemida next faced Lucas Dallapico at Premier Fight League on 23 February 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 24 May 2019. He retained the title by a decision draw.

Almeida faced Sergey Veselkin in his Fair Fight debut at Fair Fight IX on 8 July 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 26 October 2019. He won the fight by an extra round decision.

Glory Almeida made his Glory debut against Donovan Wisse at Glory Collision 2 on 21 December 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 3 September 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 8 October 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 11 February 2023. The bout was a rematch of their first meeting, that took place on 21 December 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 8 August 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 18 November 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 6 April 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 1 June 2024 at UFC 302. He lost the bout by split decision.

Almeida faced Ihor Potieria on 5 October 2024 at UFC 307. He won the fight by unanimous decision.

Almeida faced Abdul Razak Alhassan on 11 January 2025 at UFC Fight Night 249. He won the fight by a left hook knockout in the first round. This fight earned him another Performance of the Night award.

Almeida faced Cezary Oleksiejczuk on 13 December 2025, at UFC on ESPN 73. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.

Almeida faced Damian Pinas on 11 July 2026 at UFC 329. He lost the fight by knockout at the end of the first round.

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 (two times) Bloody Elbow 2025 #3 Ranked Knockout of the Year

Mixed martial arts record Loss

Damian Pinas KO (punch) UFC 329

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Loss

Cezary Oleksiejczuk Decision (unanimous) UFC on ESPN: Royval vs. Kape

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win

Abdul Razak Alhassan KO (punch) UFC Fight Night: Dern vs. Ribas 2

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win

Ihor Potieria Decision (unanimous) UFC 307

Salt Lake City, Utah, United States Loss

Roman Kopylov Decision (split) UFC 302

Newark, New Jersey, United States Win

Dylan Budka TKO (punches) UFC Fight Night: Allen vs. Curtis 2

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States

Lucas Fernando Decision (unanimous) Dana White's Contender Series 57

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win

Danilo Souza KO (punch) Shooto Brazil 110

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Win

Vitor Costa TKO (punches) Road to Future 1

São Paulo, Brazil Win

Thiago Araujo TKO (punches) Shooto Brazil 61

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Kickboxing record