Cesar Almeida and Cezary Oleksiejczuk meet on the UFC on ESPN 73 main card Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Check out this quick breakdown of the matchup from MMA Junkie analyst Dan Tom.
Last event: 2-2-1
Advertisement
UFC main cards, 2025: 120-86-3
Cesar Almeida vs. Cezary Oleksiejczuk UFC on ESPN 73 preview
Almeida (7-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) has seen good results since joining the UFC in April 2024, winning three of his four appearances. The 37-year-old has won two in a row and will look to pick up momentum off a knockout of Abdul Razak Alhassan back in January.
Oleksiejczuk (16-3 MMA, 0-0 UFC) is making his UFC debut roughly three months after earning his contract on Dana White’s Contender in September. The 25-year-old will enter on a four-fight winning streak.
Cesar Almeida vs. Cezary Oleksiejczuk UFC on ESPN 73 expert pick, prediction
Aside from the matchmakers showing their sense of humor by booking back-to-back weeks of first-name parity fights, Cesar Almeida vs. Cezary Oleksiejczuk should be fun for as long as it lasts.
Advertisement
Despite Almeida and Oleksiejczuk having some underrated competency on the floor, both parties prefer sorting things out on the feet.
Almeida, who tends to start slow and get his reads, has steadily been translating the slickster stylings that served him well in his kickboxing career. The potential problem, however, is that said style has allowed him to be caught cold and stunned early in his MMA fights.
Should Almeida press his luck and get caught cold against a puncher as fast and as powerful as Oleksiejczuk early, then none of us should be shocked if it’s enough to finally crack the Brazilian’s vaunted durability.
Still, as deceptive as Oleksiejczuk’s experience might be, I have a hard time backing a relatively unproven fighter whose primary win conditions are first-round knockouts.
Advertisement
It feels like a risky pick, but I’ll side with the older fighter in Almeida to survive the initial storm en route to a somewhat surprising win on the scorecards.
Cesar Almeida vs. Cezary Oleksiejczuk UFC on ESPN 73 odds
Despite the oddsmakers initially opening the Brazilian as a moderate favorite, public money has flipped the line in the Polish fighter’s favor, listing Oleksiejczuk -220 and Almeida +176 via FanDuel.
Cesar Almeida vs. Cezary Oleksiejczuk UFC on ESPN 73 start time, how to watch
Almeida and Oleksiejczuk are expected to walk to the cage at approximately 11:30 p.m. ET. The fight broadcasts live on ESPN2 and streams on ESPN+.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC Vegas 112: Almeida vs. Oleksiejczuk prediction, start time
