Cesar
Almeida, who is considered to be Alex
Pereira’s biggest kickboxing rival in Brazil, began his Octagon
tenure with a “Performance of the Night” bonus after defeating
Dylan
Budka via TKO this past Saturday at
UFC Fight Night 240.
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“I finished my camp at
Xtreme Couture. Since Dylan was a wrestler, my strategy was
basically be patient defending his takedowns, hurt him in the
clinch and wait for the right moment to knock him out. Thank God,
everything went out as we expected,” Almeida told Sherdog.com. “I
couldn’t hold the emotion. My goal is not to spend anything. I will
put that [bonus] in the bank to pay for college for my two
daughters.”
In his post-fight interview, Almeida asked to face Chris
Weidman. But he revealed to Sherdog.com that he would prefer to
face a striker next.
“It was good to face a top wrestler right in my debut, but of
course against a striker I could show all my abilities and provide
a much more entertaining fight,” Almeida said.
Almeida, who is 1-2 against Pereira in kickboxing, revealed that he
spoke to “Poatan” backstage. The reigning light heavyweight
champion has promised to face him for a fourth time if he can
defeat three consecutive opponents in the UFC.
“He told me he would accept a fourth match if I beat three guys in
a row,” Almeida said. “Our three fights are considered among the
best kickboxing matches ever produced in Brazil. The first one was
a five-round Brazilian national title in 2013, and he won via
decision. The second one was also in 2013, and I won two of three
rounds in a tournament final. The third one was for the WGP belt in
2015. He dropped me twice in the second round, but I recovered and
won the fourth and fifth rounds, but he won via decision.”
Almeida added that if Jamahal
Hill were unable to face Pereira at UFC 300 for any reason, he
would be willing to step in.
“I´ll be in Vegas next week. I’ve already told the UFC to count on
me if Hill has some problems,” he said. “I already faced ‘Poatan’
for 13 rounds in kickboxing. It would be a pleasure to finish our
story in MMA.”