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Contender Series Week 1: Cesar Almeida vs. Lucas Fernando continues with the featured bout in the men's middleweight division between Cesar Almeida and Lucas Fernando. Almeida is undefeated riding three straight wins meanwhile, Fernando is coming off four consecutive wins into his shot on the Contender Series. With that said, check out our UFC odds series for our Almeida-Fernando prediction and pick.
Cesar Almeida (3-0) is a former kickboxing world champion that fought 13 rounds with the former UFC middleweight champion and now light heavyweight contender Alex Pereira. He made the switch to MMA in 2016 but has only fought two times since his professional MMA debut and will be looking to impress Dana White like Pereira did when he takes on his toughest MMA competition to date in Lucas Fernando this Tuesday night.
Lucas Fernando (9-1) is a Brazilian prospect that fought his last four fights under the LFA banner and captured the vacant LFA middleweight championship before taking his talents to the Contender Series. Fernando will be looking to make a big splash on the Contender Series and spoil the coming-out party of Cesar Almeida.
Here are the UFC Odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
UFC Nashville Odds: Cesar Almeida-Lucas Fernando Odds
Cesar Almeida: +186
Lucas Fernando: -225
How to Watch Cesar Almeida vs. Lucas Fernando
TV: ESPN+
Stream: ESPN+
Time: 7:00 p.m. ET/ 4:00 p.m. PT
Why Cesar Almeida Will Win
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Cesar Almeida is a high-level kickboxer that was a WGP Kickboxing Champion and a World Champion WKN Sk. He has a kickboxing record of 47-8-1 with 27 knockouts. With all of that experience, he is just 3-0 as an MMA fighter and made the transition to MMA back in 2016. Almeida has had a ton of time to improve his game since then and is now training out in Las Vegas, Nevada at Xtreme Couture with high-level athletes like top middleweight contender Sean Strickland who will be fighting for the middleweight championship at UFC 293.
Almeida's claim to fame was that he has fought 13 rounds with Alex Pereira the former UFC middleweight champion and current light heavyweight contender. He was one of the few in kickboxing to hang in there with Pereira on two separate occasions. He has world-class striking abilities but it remains to be seen how the rest of his MMA has filled out over the years. He certainly will be tested against fellow Brazilian Lucas Fernando but if he able to keep this fight on the fight he will be able to score the big upset and the biggest win of his MMA career.
Why Lucas Fernando Will Win
Lucas Fernando was the LFA middleweight championship prior to getting the call to come onto the Contender Series. He fought most recently for LFA in his last four fights winning all four with three of those four wins coming by knockout. Fernando may not have the accolades as Almeida but he is sure a very tough fighter that is as well-rounded as they come and could quite possibly be even more dangerous on the feet than Almeida.
Fernando will be the taller and longer fighter who's going to have the speed advantage as well. While his grappling isn't his strong suit it's most certainly levels above Almeida. Fernando has yet to hit his prime while Almeida is way out of his prime at age 35. As long as Fernando doesn't get caught on the feet by a thunderous shot from Almeida then he could potentially just outwork him for the majority of this fight.
Final Cesar Almeida-Lucas Fernando Prediction & Pick
This is a fantastic featured fight for week 1 on Contender Series between these two middleweight prospects. Almeida has some serious power for a middleweight fighter, it may not be on the same level as Alex Pereira but is certainly up there. He also has the technical striking abilities to make this a tough fight for Fernando if he doesn't play at kicking range with him.
As for Fernando, he will need to be cautious when he is attempting to get within range of Almeida. He will need to utilize his kicks to keep Almeida at bay and then use his well-timed takedowns to get Almeida to the mat when he pushes forward throwing heavy shots. Ultimately, if Fernando can avoid the big power shots of Almeida without getting hurt he can just outpace him on the feet and then mix in the takedowns for good measure and potentially finish him there as he has submission victories on his record en route to a contract in the UFC.
Final Cesar Almeida-Lucas Fernando Prediction & Pick: Lucas Fernando (-225)
