UFC Sao Paulo went down tonight (Saturday, November 16, 2019) from the Ginásio do Ibirapuera in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The world’s leading mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion compiled an excellent card for fight fans to enjoy.
It was headlined by a meeting between Jan Blachowicz and Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza in a light heavyweight bout.
The co-headliner saw Maurício Rua vs. Paul Craig in a light heavyweight bout take place. Charles Oliveira vs. Jared Gordon in a lightweight bout, Antonio Arroyo vs. Andre Muniz in a middleweight showdown, and Markus Perez vs. Wellington Turman in a 185-pound clash rounded out the main card.
Jan Blachowicz vs. Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza
It was a very tactical fight with each fighter picking their shots and moments to explode. Through the first few rounds, Souza wanted to clinch and pressed him up against the fence where he controlled the action. There was a lot of stick and move. Jan started to throw with more urgency as the fight went on. The crowd was booing and doing silly things with their phones. Jan started to let go with leg kicks late into the fight. In the final round, Souza shot for a takedown but Jan stuffed it. In the end, the judges gave the win to Blachowicz by split decision.
Maurício Rua vs. Paul Craig
Craig scored a tossing takedown before landing a series of strikes up against the fence right out of the gate in the first round. Craig went for a guillotine choke then let go and unloaded on Rua, who fired back. It was a wild onslaught of offense by Craig. In the second round, Rua scored a takedown and landed several big punches from top position in guard. The third round saw Rua take him down and beat him up for the majority of the round. With seconds left in the fight, Craig got to his feet, popped him with a strike and scored a takedown. The judges decided that the fight was a split draw.
Charles Oliveira vs. Jared Gordon
Oliveira landed a right hook in the pocket that rocked Gordon then followed up with a right uppercut that put Gordon on his back and that’s a wrap.
Antonio Arroyo vs. Andre Muniz
Muniz went for an armbar off his back but Arroyo managed to get out of it. Arroyo is hit with an errant knee to the face while down. It was a mostly strikking affair with Arroyo getting the better of him. In round two, Muniz landed a sweet combo before scoring a takedown and getting his back. This is where Muniz worked for a rear-naked choke but couldn’t get it. At the start of the first round, Muiz scored a takedown. It wasn’t the great fight but the judges gave the win to Muniz.
Markus Perez vs. Wellington Turman
The first round was a close one as they were throwing hands. Truman was looking to get the fight to the ground and did score a takedown but it didn’t last long. Perez was throwing a lot of different strikes and kicks to try to get a highlight reel KO, which was hurting him as Turman ate him up. Turman once again took him down in the second round but ate some back elbows. For the rest of the fight, Turman decided to take things to the ground where he put on a beating and scored the decision win.
It’s certain to have a great night of fights. Check out MMA News’ UFC Sao Paulo results below:
Quick UFC Sao Paulo Results
Main card (ESPN+, 8 p.m. ET)
- Light heavyweight bout: Jan Blachowicz def. Ronaldo Souza via split decision (47-48, 48-47, 48-47)
- Light heavyweight bout: Mauricio Rua vs. Paul Craig is declared a split draw (29-28, 28-29, 28-28)
- Lightweight bout: Charles Oliveira def. Jared Gordon by knockout (punches) at 1:26 of Round 1
- Middleweight bout: Andre Muniz def. Antonio Arroyo via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Middleweight bout: Wellington Turman def. Markus Perez via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Preliminary card (ESPN+, 5 p.m. ET)
- Welterweight bout: James Krause def. Sergio Moraes by knockout (punch) at 4:19 of Round 3
- Featherweight bout: Ricardo Ramos def. Eduardo Garagorri by submission (rear-naked choke) at 3:57 of Round 1
- Lightweight bout: Francisco Trinaldo def. Bobby Green via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
- Welterweight bout: Randy Brown def. Warlley Alves by submission (triangle choke) at 1:22 of Round 2
- Featherweight bout: Douglas Silva de Andrade def. Renan Barao by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)
- Women’s flyweight bout: Ariane Lipski def. Isabella de Padua by unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 29-27)
- Women’s bantamweight bout: Tracy Cortez def. Vanessa Melo by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
