César Almeida vs Abdul Razak Alhassan at UFC Fight Night 249 | Preview & Prediction
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After claiming an excellent decision win over Ihor Potieria last time out, Cesar Almeida returns to action to take on Abdul Razak Alhassan in the UFC’s middleweight division
César Almeida vs Abdul Razak Alhassan Facts
When is UFC Fight Night 249? UK – the preliminary card starts at 9:00pm on Saturday 11th January 2024, followed by the main card at 12:00am (Sunday) / USA – 4:00pm/7:00pm ET (Saturday) and 1:00pm/4:00pm PT (Saturday)
Where is UFC Fight Night 249? UFC Apex, Las Vegas, USA
Where can I get tickets for UFC Fight Night 249? Click here for the latest ticket information for UFC Fight Night 249
What TV channel is UFC Fight Night 249 on? UK – TNT Sports / USA – ESPN+
Where can I stream UFC Fight Night 249? UK – TNT Sports subscribers can stream the event online via the TNT Sports website and discovery+ / USA – ESPN+ & UFC Fight Pass
For viewers in the United States, UFC Fight Night 249 will be shown live on ESPN+ and you can sign up for access as part of a Disney Bundle here!
What time are César Almeida and Abdul Razak Alhassan expected to walk out? Sunday 12th January, 2025, 1:45am UK / Saturday 11th January, 8:45pm US ET / 5:45pm US PT
UFC Fight Night 249 Main Card Event
Mackenzie Dern vs Amanda Ribas (Women’s Strawweight)
Santiago Ponzinibbio vs Carlston Harris (Welterweight)
Cesar Almeida vs Abdul Razak Alhassan (Middleweight)
Chris Curtis vs Roman Kopylov (Middleweight)
Christian Rodriguez vs Austin Bashi (Featherweight)
Punahele Soriano vs Uros Medic (Welterweight)
UFC Fight Night 249 Prelims
Jose Johnson vs Felipe Bunes (Flyweight)
Marco Tulio vs Ihor Potieria (Middleweight)
Thiago Moises vs Trey Ogden (Lightweight)
Ernesta Kareckaitė vs Nicolle Caliari (Women’s Flyweight)
Magomed Gadzhiyasulov vs Bruno Lopes (Light Heavyweight)
Fatima Kline vs Victoria Dudakova (Women’s Strawweight)
Preston Parsons vs Jacobe Smith (Welterweight)
Nurullo Aliev vs Joe Solecki (Lightweight)
César Almeida: Brazilian kickboxer wasting no time in UFC
Cesar Almeida (6-1) is looking to make up for lost time after switching to MMA just a few years ago after a long and storied Kickboxing career. The 36-year-old Brazilian is taking just his eighth professional MMA bout here and he will be keen to kick on. After three fights in 2024, he fights again in the first event of 2025 and will be looking to make it seven wins from eight and three from four in the UFC. He comes off a unanimous decision win over Ihor Potieria at UFC 307 and now faces Abdul Razak Alhassan.
Abdul Razak Alhassan: Three-time Performance of the Night winner returns to action
Abdul Razak Alhassan (12-6 with one no contest) returns to the Octagon after an absence of six months after he had a bout in October cancelled after the weigh-in when his opponent Josh Fremd was taken ill. His last bout was also something of a non-event as his fight with Cody Brundage was waved off after just 37 seconds due to accidental elbows to the back of the head that left Brundage unable to continue. It has therefore been a frustrating time for the Ghanaian who has been desperately looking to get his career back on track. Prior to the no-contest, he had lost five of his last seven fights as his opponents have found a way to counter his power. All 12 of Alhassan’s wins have come by knockout.
César Almeida vs Abdul Razak Alhassan Prediction
This is a really interesting middleweight fight and one which should be a crowd-pleaser. Abdul Razak Alhassan is a head-hunter and he will go all out for the knockout. That is the only way he knows how to win as all 12 of his successes have come that way. Ultimately, if he does not knock his opponent out, he loses so it is fair to say he is pretty one-dimensional.
The same cannot be said for Cesar Almeida even during his relatively short MMA career. He has knockout power but he is also capable of grinding it out and winning on points.
He has the tank to do it over the three rounds and he is also technically good enough if he wishes to avoid trading. That is surely his best route to victory here and we expect him to use his quality technique to out-strike his opponent here. He may not finish him, but we expect Almeida to have the extra touch of quality to win on points.
Prediction: Cesar Almeida to win by decision or KO/TKO (double chance)
