UFC News & FeaturesMiddleweights
Cesar Almeida (5-1, 1-1 UFC) vs. Ihor Potieria (20-6, 2-4 UFC)ODDS: Almeida (-410), Potieria (+320)
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While the dream of Almeida working himself into middleweight title contention now seems to be over, he should at least continue having some fun fights like this one. The Brazilian was the latest high-level kickboxer to transition into the UFC’s middleweight ranks when he appeared on Dana White’s Contender Series last year, and the hope was that he could find a level of success similar to Israel Adesanya or Alex Pereira. Almeida figured to have a narrower path to contention, however, in part thanks to his late start, as he is now in his mid-30s. Things went fine enough given the expectations in Almeida’s Contender Series win and his UFC debut. He’s obviously not the same level of explosive finisher as Adesanya or Pereira, but he did show a solid level of grappling defense for someone with his lack of experience. However, after his loss to Roman Kopylov in June, it doesn’t appear that Almeida will be able to thread the proverbial needle and rise through the ranks. Kopylov is typically a striker by trade but outwrestled Almeida for three rounds without much issue. Almeida looks to rebound here against Potieria, who’s attempting to become known for more than being the man that ended the career of Mauricio Rua. For a while, that looked like it’d wind up as Potieria’s lone UFC win. The Ukrainian had some physical talent, but an untested regional career left him settling in as a brawler who would often charge into knockouts. To his credit, Potieria showed some more ideas in a fight late last year against Rodolfo Bellato—albeit in a loss—and does seem to be a viable middleweight since cutting down to 185 pounds a few months ago, even if he got quickly finished by Michel Pereira in May. Potieria’s going to try a lot of things, and that might be enough given the one-dimensionality of Almeida’s game at the moment. Still, it does seem like the Ukrainian’s approach is going to give Almeida a decent shot at scoring a knockout blow. The pick is Almeida via first-round knockout.
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