Saul Almeida

Saul Almeida (born June 4, 1992) is a Brazilian-American professional boxer and mixed martial artist. A professional mixed martial artist since 2008, Almeida has fought in Bellator, World Series of Fighting, Absolute Championship Berkut, and CES MMA.

Background
Almeida was born in Brazil where he lived until moving to Boston, Massachusetts at the age of eight. Almeida began training in karate and earned the rank of black belt, at the age of ten, Almeida began training in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. In high school, Almeida competed in wrestling and also trained in boxing.

Early career
Almeida made his professional debut in October 2008, defeating Iann de Oliveira via unanimous decision. He would then win his next 6 bouts, earning them mostly by decision before losing to Pete Jeffrey via guillotine choke submission at CES MMA: First Blood on September 17, 2010. Almeida then won his next two bouts, defeating Bobby Reardanz and Cody Stevens both by unanimous decision before making his Bellator debut.

Bellator MMA
Almeida made his Bellator debut on August 20, 2011 at Bellator 48. He faced Tateki Matsuda and won via unanimous decision.

Almeida next faced Matt Bessette at Bellator 63 on March 30, 2012. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.

Almeida was expected to face UFC veteran Kurt Pellegrino at Bellator 108 on November 15, 2013. However, Pellegrino pulled out of the fight due to injury. Almeida was removed from the card as a result.

Almeida instead fought outside of Bellator for his next three fights.

Almeida faced Goiti Yamauchi at Bellator 109 on November 22, 2013. He lost the fight via knockout in the first round.

Almeida faced Andrew Fisher in a Bellator season ten featherweight tournament alternate bout on February 28, 2014 at Bellator 110. He won the fight via unanimous decision.

Independent promotions
After leaving Bellator, with a 2-2 record in the organisation, Almeida has gone 3-0, with two finishes, on the local circuit.

World Series of Fighting
Almeida made his WSOF debut against Chris Foster on April 10, 2015 at WSOF 20. He won the fight via split decision.

Almeida returned to the promotion on October 17, 2015 at WSOF 24. He faced Alexandre de Almeida and lost the fight via submission in the first round. For his third fight, Almeida faced Bruce Boyington at WSOF 31 on June 17, 2016, and lost via split decision.

Professional boxing
Almeida made his professional boxing debut in 2012.