Alexandre Almeida entered World Series of Fighting as a former Jungle Fight featherweight champion, and needed only one win in the promotion to earn a shot at 145-pound champion Lance Palmer. A huge underdog at WSOF 26, "Capitao" came out victorious via unanimous decision after five rounds.
Some athletes feels disrespected when labeled as an underdog, but Almeida and his team saw an opportunity to make extra money.
"The oddsmakers always believe Americans will win, especially in this case," Almeida told MMA Fighting. "Lance was the champion and I wasn’t well known in the United States, but they didn’t know that I was the number one in Brazil.