Author: Dan Hiergesell

Photo by Alexandre Schneider/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

It all goes down later tonight (Sat., Nov. 16, 2019) at UFC Fight Night 164 live on ESPN+ from inside Ibirapuera Gymnasium in Sao Paulo, Brazil, as former Strikeforce middleweight champion Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza makes his light heavyweight debut against Polish finisher Jan Blachowicz in the main event.

In addition to the 205-pound headliner, former UFC light heavyweight champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua will make one of his last trips to the Octagon when he squares off with dangerous submission specialist Paul Craig in the co-main event, lightweight contender Charles Oliveira will try to win his sixth straight in an exciting matchup with Jared Gordon, and promising middleweight prospect Antonio Arroyo will make his Octagon debut in a main card clash with submission guru Andre Muniz. Not to mention a “Prelims” card featuring notable names like Renan Barao, Bobby Green, James Krause, Francisco Trinaldo, and Warlley Alves.

Take a look below at UFC Sao Paulo’s complete fight card line up and start times:

Main Card (ESPN+)
8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT

Jan Blachowicz vs. Ronaldo Souza
Mauricio Rua vs. Paul Craig
Charles Oliveira vs. Jared Gordon
Antonio Arroyo vs. Andre Muniz
Markus Perez vs. Wellington Turman

‘Prelims’ Undercard (ESPN+)
5 p.m. ET / 2 p.m. PT

Sergio Moraes vs. James Krause
Ricardo Ramos vs. Luiz Eduardo Garagorri
Francisco Trinaldo vs. Bobby Green
Warlley Alves vs. Randy Brown
Douglas Silva de Andrade vs. Renan Barao
Ariane Lipski vs. Isabella de Padua
Vanessa Melo vs. Tracy Cortez

Here are all the ways to catch the action:

Online

• UFC Sao Paulo: ‘Blachowicz vs. Jacare’ main card and preliminary card can be viewed via the ESPN+ streaming app.
• Subscriptions cost $4.99 per month.

Television

• UFC Sao Paulo: ‘Blachowicz vs. Jacare’ is also accessible via Rokustick, AndroidTV, Amazon’s Kindle Fire, Apple TV, Google’s Chromecast, Playstation 4 and Xbox One.

Tablet/Mobile

• UFC Sao Paulo: ‘Blachowicz vs. Jacare’ main card and preliminary card can be viewed via ESPN+ streaming app through Google Play and iTunes stores.

Bars

Check out a list of sports bars and pubs near you that will most likely be showing today’s fights CLICK HERE.

To see who else is fighting at UFC Sao Paulo click here.

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Ronald Souza will be blazing a new career path later tonight (Sat., Nov. 16, 2019) at UFC Fight Night 164 live on ESPN+ from inside Ibirapuera Gymnasium in Sao Paulo, Brazil, when he makes his move up to the light heavyweight division to take on proven contender Jan Blachowicz in the main event.

Needless to say, this is a very important fight for the man known as “Jacare.” Not only is Souza trying to shake off a 2-3 record in his last five Octagon appearances, but at the age of 38 the Brazilian legend doesn’t have much time left to make his final push for a UFC title shot. Remember, “Jacare,” despite his vast accomplishments throughout his 16-year professional career, has never competed for a UFC title.

That may all change in 2020 if the veteran fighter is able to move up in weight and take out Blachowicz this weekend on friendly Brazilian soil.

“I’m happy because everything has changed in my life,” Souza said in a UFC promotional video earlier this week. “This fight against Jan is very important for me. The UFC gave me the opportunity to fight in a light heavyweight main event – a tough fight in my hometown.”

Souza, who is widely considered one of the best Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioners to ever crossover into professional MMA, hasn’t been his dominant self on the ground in recent Octagon appearances. That’s not because “Jacare” has lost the skills to wrap opponents up, it’s due to the fact that he often gets caught in fire fights on the feet. And even though the Brazilian submission specialist packs a serious punch he’s always going to do better in close quarters.

“Sometimes, I use too (much) striking,” Souza explained. “Sometimes, I win. Sometimes, I lose. But right now, I’m back to my roots. I use a lot of jiu-jitsu. I train a lot of jiu-jitsu. I believe everything is going to be different right now.”

If Souza is able to tap back into his grappling wizardry that got him here in the first place then all UFC light heavyweights better be on high alert. Because even though “Jacare” hasn’t recorded a submission finish since slapping a kimura on Tim Boetsch back in 2017 the Brazilian remains one takedown away from finishing any one of his opponents.

With a new division in front of him and just a few years left at peak performance, Souza is hoping to channel his old self this weekend at UFC Sao Paulo and get back to where he once was.

“I’m happy, and if I’m happy it’s hard to beat me,” Souza said. “I have to go there and beat Jan and make me more happy. When I think about this, my mind is blowing. Whatever he brings to the octagon, I overcome.

“I’m ready for the fight and to show everybody ‘Jacare’ is back.”

To see who else is fighting at UFC Sao Paulo click here.

Photo by Brett Carlsen/Getty Images

Charles Oliveira will look to prove yet again tomorrow night (Sat., Nov. 16, 2019) at UFC Fight Night 164 live on ESPN+ from inside Ibirapuera Gymnasium in Sao Paulo, Brazil, that he’s one of the most underrated fighters in MMA today.

Oliveira, 30, will be testing his luck against lightweight gamer Jared Gordon as the two lock horns on UFC Sao Paulo’s main card. It will be Oliveira’s second fight in Brazil this year after “do Bronx” choked out David Teymur at UFC Fortaleza this past February.

While the Brazilian has lost some very important fights in the past, Oliveira has now won his last five Octagon appearances all by way of finish. In the process, Oliveira has extended his record for most UFC submission wins to an outstanding 13. All in all, “do Bronx” has proven to be one of the most dominant fighters at 155 pounds over the past two years.

In advance to his clash with Gordon, UFC has released some of the greatest performances in the UFC career of Oliveira. From his recent TKO victory over rival Nik Lentz to his incredible submission win over veteran Jim Miller last December, Oliveira’s highlight reel is jam-packed with memorable action.

Check it out in the above video player courtesy of UFC.

While these finishes are nice to look at, Oliveira still has to get the job done this weekend at UFC Sao Paulo. Because even though the Brazilian has won his last five, Gordon is a hungry contender on the rise with little fear inside of the cage.

To see who else is fighting at UFC Sao Paulo click here.

Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Former UFC women’s strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk is desperately trying to lock down her next shot at UFC gold and prove that she’s still championship worthy.

Jedrzejczyk, who held the 115-pound title from 2015-2017, has been trying to get her belt back ever since she was upset by Rose Namajunas back at UFC 217. Her search for UFC gold also landed her in a women’s flyweight title fight opposite pound-for-pound great Valentina Shevchenko, who handily beat Joanna over the course of 25 minutes.

After defeating Michelle Waterson at UFC Tampa this past October, Jedrzejczyk was hoping to earn a shot at current UFC women’s strawweight queen Weili Zhang. While the matchup has incredible potential for an all-out striking war between two of the best female fighters in the world today, Zhang showed little interest in the fight. The UFC champ even went as far as saying Jedrzejczyk is ‘not the fighter she used to be.”

Jedrzejczyk, who is one of the more outspoken fighters in today’s MMA, is not going away quietly. Even if Zhang initially turned down a fight with Jedrzejczyk the former champion is going to continue to lobby for her next title shot.

“I signed an agreement before the fight with Michelle Waterson,” Jedrzejczyk told South China Morning Post. “I knew that after I got the victory I was going to fight for the belt. This is what’s going to happen next, and I’m just waiting for the date and the location, and then we’re going to rock it.”

“Anywhere, anytime,” she added. “Bangkok, Sri Lanka, Warsaw, Toronto, it doesn’t matter where. For me, it doesn’t matter. I will make my way. Even if we have to take a canoe, I will make it to China and beat the s*** out of her.”

Zhang, 30, burst onto the MMA scene this past August at UFC Shenzhen when she put her 19-fight win streak on the line to take out then women’s strawweight champion Jessica Andrade with a 42-second TKO finish (see it again HERE). It was an incredible performance to say the least, especially considering it was Zhang’s first main event spot and it happened to come against one of the most intimidating fighters in women’s strawweight history.

With the gold belt wrapped around her waist heading into 2020, Zhang is going to be able to pick and chose her next steps. But if she wants to take her newfound notoriety to an entirely new level and became as big of a star in America as she is in China then maybe a matchup with Jedrzejczyk is the right move to make.

Steve Flynn-USA TODAY Sports

Combat sports has produced some pretty wild crossovers throughout its history, but heavyweight boxing king Tyson Fury testing his luck in mixed martial arts (MMA) may be one of the biggest.

Well, probably not bigger than this one.

Fury, who is arguably the most popular name in boxing today, has really started to take over the fight game after coming back from a hiatus in June 2018. The towering Englishman has not only captured four dominant wins since then, but he fought current WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder to a draw last December in one of the best fights in recent memory. Fury, who is a true entertainer, also made a recent crossover into professional wrestling at WWE’s Crown Jewel.

While Fury is likely to stick to boxing for the time being in search of a monstrous rematch with Wilder, “Gypsy King” is still setting some time aside to work on his MMA skills. After showcasing his elbow game alongside UFC middleweight Darren Till (see it HERE), Fury is now looking to schedule a few training sessions with combat superstar Conor McGregor.

“I think Conor is an absolutely fantastic fighting man. He has offered to train me if I ever want to go into MMA,” Fury told RTE Radio 1 (h/t The Mac Life).. “What better trainer could I have than the Notorious Conor McGregor? I’m looking forward to coming to train with Conor. We’re going to get it all planned in and I should be over in Dublin quite soon.

“I’ll definitely be coming over for a training session, that is for sure. I have been MMA training in the last week with Darren Till in Liverpool,” Fury continued. “I really enjoy the new challenge. I don’t know where or when [I’ll move into MMA] because after I finish my boxing career I fancy my hand at MMA as well.”

Fury, 31, is still young enough to get a few years of training under his belt before deciding to make a crossover into the cage. But if he wants to strike while the iron is hot and cash in on his growing notoriety in combat sports, “Gypsy King” may want to ask UFC for an opportunity sooner rather than later.

While McGregor isn’t the most complete fighter to ready Fury for such a change in fighting, “Notorious” does understand how to incorporate world-class striking into a dangerous MMA game. But with his own MMA comeback to plan, McGregor may be a little too busy over the next few months to really dive in and start teaching Fury the ins and out of MMA.

What do you think, Maniacs? Can McGregor ready Fury for MMA action?

Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Things have started to heat up between Nick Diaz and Jorge Masvidal following the completion of the “Baddest Motherf—ker” title fight earlier this month at UFC 244, in which “Gamebred” defeated Nate Diaz via third-round TKO (see it again HERE).

The beef between the two fighters all started when Masvidal talked about baptizing Nate at UFC 244 and winning the new “BMF title. Big brother Nick then chimed in and came to Nate’s defense, declaring himself the true “BMF” king in the process. Masvidal cut a funny video in response before asking if Nick knows who he’s calling out.

While Diaz hasn’t fought since taking on Anderson Silva at UFC 183 back in 2015, this little rivalry with Masvidal has started to gain some traction. If UFC were to reach out to Diaz and propose a battle with “Gamebred” and the opportunity to avenge Nate’s “BMF” loss, maybe the Stockton fighter will come back and give fight fans one final performance.

Despite being absent from the MMA spotlight for nearly five years, Diaz still commands a large following capable of bringing any of his fights to the next level. Just ask MMA commentator and former UFC fighter Chael Sonnen, who believes a Diaz vs. Masvidal grudge match would truly be something special.

“We don’t have to get into the X’s and O’s,” Sonnen said on ESPN Radio (via BJPenn.com). “Just for fun right now, I think Nick would be the bigger fight. Don’t forget, I’m not insulting Nate. Nate just sold out Madison Square Garden, had the rocking attendance, had the President in attendance.

“I’m not slighting Nate but don’t you agree with me? I mean come on, there would be something special if big brother stepped in to get redemption for little brother.”

Nick, 36, was always the bigger star than Nate going back to his days in Strikeforce and eventually UFC. But with Nick absent from the picture over the last half decade, Nate has started to take the game over. From his two fights with Conor McGregor to his massive “BMF” match with Masvidal, the younger Diaz seems to be pulling the strings nowadays.

That said, Nick Diaz is still the man. People understand who he is and what he has done, whether he has competed since 2015 or not. If he was ever to come back to UFC and fight one last time it would be absolutely massive.

“You know what, simple economics. The law of supply and demand,” he explained. “The greatest law in all of economics says that if you don’t have very much Nick and you can get a Nick one time, that that’s more valuable than Nate a third time.

“So I think that it’s great but I also think that you really can’t redo that story. I mean I’d have to go back to what? It was Tito Ortiz that fought Frank Shamrock, so then big brother Ken’s gonna step in and make things right.”

What say you, Maniacs? Is Diaz vs. Masvidal a truly special fight to make?