Cesar Almeida kicked off the 2025 Knockout of the Year race in style.
While Almeida’s UFC Vegas 101 main card matchup with Abdul Razak Alhassan was expected to produce fireworks, no one could have predicted exactly how it would end. Alhassan had Almeida badly hurt and advanced with a flurry as Almeida was backed up against the cage, but “Cesinha” fired back with a left hand on the money that instantly rendered Alhassan stiff on the canvas.
It was the first UFC knockout win for Almeida, who joined the promotion with the reputation of a dangerous kickboxer.
Unsurprisingly, his fellow fighters were blown away by the comeback KO, including Diana Belbita, who wrote on Twitter, “That’s what I call playing Russian Roulette in MMA.”
UFC welterweight Randy Brown noted that Almeida snatched victory “from the brink of defeat.”
Former two-division UFC champion Henry Cejudo also gave Almeida his flowers, writing, “Cesinha Almeida puts forth an early KO of the year candidate.”
See more fighter reactions from social media below.
That knockout by almeida was fucking nasty
— David Rickels (@TheCaveman316) January 12, 2025
Damn just like that some Cody no love punch off the cage type shit rt there game of inches and bruh that’s some insane punching power dude still hurt
— Terrance McKinney (@twrecks155) January 12, 2025
