César Almeida

Pinas and Almeida exchanged kicks and punches through the opening round before Pinas landed a punch that dropped Almeida. A follow-up punch preceded the knockout stoppage at 4:44.

Key moments

• Both fighters exchanged kicks and punches.
• Pinas landed a punch that dropped Almeida.
• A follow-up punch preceded the knockout stoppage at 4:44 of round one.

Oleksiejczuk neutralized Almeida's kickboxing with a consistent wrestling gameplan, securing takedowns in every round and controlling the lion's share of ground time. Almeida showed good scramble awareness — briefly reversing to top in round two — but could never sustain enough offense to sway the judges.

Key moments

• Round 1: Almeida overextended on a right hand; Oleksiejczuk ducked under and took him down, holding side control for over three minutes
• Round 2: Almeida timed a transition from bottom to briefly take top position, but Oleksiejczuk quickly reclaimed control and landed ground-and-pound to close the round
• Round 3: Oleksiejczuk shot a clean double-leg early; in the closing seconds Almeida stood, then pulled guard for a guillotine that never threatened

In a fight-of-the-night candidate, Alhassan floored Almeida with a big right hand early in the first round, but Almeida fought through the adversity and came roaring back with a devastating left hook that put Alhassan out cold at 4:16.

Key moments

• Alhassan dropped Almeida with a powerful right hand early in round one, raising doubts about the Brazilian's ability to continue
• Almeida shook off the knockdown, engaged in a wild firefight, and connected with a single left hook that sent Alhassan crashing to the canvas
• Alhassan remained down for several minutes requiring medical attention — one of the most dramatic stoppages seen at the UFC Apex that year
• Almeida's second Performance of the Night bonus in three UFC appearances

A foul-filled but competitive middleweight bout played out in Salt Lake City, with Almeida's kickboxing countering Potieria's body shots and takedown threats across three rounds. The key sequence came in round two when Almeida snagged a tight guillotine, escaped to high mount, and unleashed slicing elbows before the round ended. All three judges scored it 30-27 for Almeida.

Key moments

• Round 1: Potieria landed consistent body shots and secured a late takedown; Almeida countered well with kicks and straight punches throughout
• Round 2: After an eye poke pause, Almeida locked in a deep guillotine that nearly forced a tap before transitioning to full mount and unloading elbows from top
• Multiple eye pokes and a low blow went largely uncalled by the referee, repeatedly interrupting the rhythm of the fight
• High-altitude Salt Lake City visibly drained both fighters in round three; Almeida's cleaner striking edged a dominant cards sweep

Almeida's UFC debut was a rollercoaster: Budka controlled him for nearly six minutes with takedowns, putting him on his back three times in round one. But the former kickboxing champion out-struck Budka 87-6 overall, and in round two he defended a takedown attempt, then unleashed elbows and ground-and-pound until the referee waved it off at 2:13. The Performance of the Night bonus was his reward.

Key moments

• Round 1: Budka took Almeida down three times and controlled him for the majority of the round — an unexpectedly rough start for the debuting striker
• Round 2: Almeida sprawled a takedown attempt and immediately transitioned to top position, landing elbows and punches in a relentless flurry
• Referee stoppage came at 2:13 of round two as Budka had no answer for the ground-and-pound
• Almeida called out former UFC champion Chris Weidman in his post-fight interview, signalling big ambitions

Almeida dropped the opening round — Fernando timed a takedown and briefly threatened a choke — but the decorated kickboxer's much-improved wrestling took over from the second.

Key moments

• Round 1: Fernando ducked under a right hand for a well-timed takedown and hunted a choke when Almeida stood — but Almeida controlled the wrists and spun back to top position in the final minute
• Round 2: Almeida's offensive and defensive wrestling took over, and he controlled the exchanges on the feet and in the clinch
• Round 3: he landed the more telling blows as Fernando pressed for the finish he needed