Cesar Almeida picked up the most important win of his MMA career tonight (Sat., Nov. 14, 2026) at UFC 334 LIVE on Paramount+ from Madison Square Garden in New York, stopping middleweight prospect Donte Johnson by first-round TKO (punches).
Most believed that Johnson’s power and aggressive striking style would be too much for Almeida to handle in this 185-pound matchup. Almeida is a well-rounded striker, but he has been up and down in his UFC tenure so far. Almeida’s job was to play spoiler on one of the biggest stages of the year, and that’s exactly what he did against one of the top names in the division.
Almeida quickly showed his ability to be more accurate and rely on slick shot selection to land his shots. A perfectly placed right hand finally scored and hurt Johnson. Johnson somehow survived, but was never the same. Almeida kept the pressure up and landed another huge right hand to the cage that dropped Almeida and forced the referee’s hand after an additional landing and nail.
Check out the video highlights below:
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