Donte Johnson’s unbeaten run ended Saturday at Madison Square Garden. Cesar Almeida, a 38-year-old former kickboxing champion who came in as a big underdog on short notice, dropped Johnson twice with right hands and earned a TKO (punches) at 3:20 of Round 1 in their 190-pound catchweight bout on the UFC 334 prelims.
Johnson came out the way everyone expected. He walked Almeida down, chopped at the lead leg with a low kick and started crashing forward behind big right hands, a few of which whistled just past Almeida’s head. MMA Fighting noted there were moments where “Lockjaw” looked like the man about to land the finishing shot. Almeida kept circling, worked his way back to the center and spent those early exchanges reading Johnson’s entries. Then Johnson charged straight into a straight right and hit the canvas.
Almeida jumped on him with ground-and-pound, and Johnson scrambled hard enough to get back up, which on its own was impressive given how many heavy shots he ate on the bottom. It didn’t buy him much. Almeida kept landing right hands, caught him again along the fence, dropped him a second time, and referee Kevin MacDonald stepped in.
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How Almeida got here
Almeida wasn’t on this card originally. He replaced Baisangur Susurkaev with a little over six weeks to get ready, and the bout moved from middleweight to a 190-pound catchweight, according to MMA Fighting. He’d also lost his previous two fights, including a knockout loss to Damian Pinas. MMA Mania put it bluntly, saying the win may have saved his UFC career.
The records now read 8-3 (4-3 UFC) for Almeida and 9-1 (3-1 UFC) for Johnson, who entered at 9-0 with a perfect 3-0 mark inside the Octagon and as one of the most hyped names at 185.
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Almeida cried in the cage afterward. “People don’t know how much pressure fighting with the No. 1 show in the world is,” he told Joe Rogan. “There’s a lot of things in my mind and it’s very important to stay here for a long time.” Per Cageside Press, he thanked the New York crowd, called fighting in the UFC his life and said he plans to crack the middleweight top 15 and chase a title. Guilherme Cruz summed it up on X in three Portuguese words: “Atropelo do Cesinha.”
Quick take
This is what a veteran striker looks like when a younger, heavier-handed guy gives him a full minute of looks. Johnson’s aggression was real and a couple of those overhands came close, but he kept entering on the same line, and Almeida fed him a right hand right down it. Credit to MacDonald, too. He let Johnson fight back up after the first knockdown, then waved it off the moment the second right put him down along the fence. No complaints from me on either call. Johnson is still 9-1 with three UFC wins and has plenty of time to tighten up his entries. The more pressing question belongs to the matchmakers, because a 38-year-old who just took an undefeated prospect’s zero on six weeks’ notice has earned a ranked name next.
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