The co-main event for UFC Fight Night 164 in Sao Paulo, Brazil remains intact, as Paul Craig will replace the injured Sam Alvey and face Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, per MMA Fighting. Alvey was forced to pull from the contest following a broken hand injury, leaving Shogun in search of a new opponent.
It was announced on Tuesday that Paul Craig will make his fourth Octagon appearance in 2019, as he will come in to face the Brazilian in his backyard just 18 days from the scheduled bout on November 16th. Craig will look to ride the momentum of his first-round submission victory over Vinicius Moreira last month in Mexico City. Craig has a 12-4 career record where 11 of his victories have come the way of submission. However, facing the former PRIDE and UFC light heavyweight champion in Rua will be no short order.
The 37-year-old “Shogun” Rua will enter the octagon for the 38th time to add to his already impressive resume. Rua has a career record of 26-11 where only 1 of those 11 losses has come by way of submission. We last saw Shogun in the octagon in December of last year where he was able to finish Tyson Pedro via TKO in the third round.
The card will be headlined by light heavyweights Jan Blachowicz and Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza. “Jacare” will be making his first appearance as a light heavyweight. Blachowicz, on the other hand, is hoping that a victory over “Jacare” will catapult him to a title shot against Jon Jones. The main and co-main events should prove to be exciting.
Will the legendary Rua add another win to his resume before year’s end? Or will the active 31-year-old Craig come in and spoil his homecoming?
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