UFC Fight Night 164: Blachowicz vs Jacare - Predictions and Odds

Where: Ginasio do Ibirapuera – Sao Paulo, Brazil

When: Saturday, November 16, 8 PM EST

How (TV): UFC Fight Pass, ESPN+, TSN

Jan Blachowicz vs Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza – Light Heavyweight Division

Jan Blachowicz (24-8)

Height: 6 feet, 2 inches

Reach: 78 in.

Age: 36

For the second time in as many fights, Jan Blachowicz will welcome a former UFC middleweight into the light heavyweight division.

Blachowicz last fought against division newcomer and former UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold at UFC 239 back in July.

Blachowicz welcomes Rockhold the hard way when he knocked him out in the second round of their bout. Blachowicz is 5-1 in his last six fights and is currently ranked as the sixth-best light heavyweight in the UFC.

The Polish fighter trains with the Berkut WCA Fight Team in Poland and has a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under Joe Moreira.

Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza (26-7-1)

Height: 6 feet, 1 inch

Reach: 72 in.

Age: 39

Ronaldo Souza has been 50/50 over his last few fights as he currently finds himself with a 3-3 record over his last six fights.

Although he has four performance bonuses in that time, he has struggled to win when it matters.

His last fight came on April 27 against up-and-comer Jack Hermansson.

Hermansson defeated Souza via unanimous decision. This will be Souza’s first fight in the light heavyweight division. He leaves the middleweight division still ranked at number eight.

Jacare is a highly decorated grappler boasting black belts in both judo and Brazilian jiu-jitsu. He trains out of his home country of Brazil with the Fusion X-Cel Performance center.

From ? Russia ?? to ? Brazil ??

It’s #UFCSP fight week! pic.twitter.com/QtuebaRQ8d

— UFC (@ufc) November 11, 2019

Mauricio Rua (26-11)

Height: 6 feet, 1 inch

Reach: 76 in.

Age: 37

Mauricio Rua hasn’t fought since December of 2018 but he has put together a pretty good record in the UFC across his last five fights.

The former light heavyweight champion has gone 4-1 in his last five losing to only former title contender Anthony Smith. Rua’s last fight was against Tyson Pedro.

He defeated Pedro via third-round TKO. Heading into this fight, Rua is ranked as the 14th-best light heavyweight in the UFC.

The Brazilian fighter trains at the Universidade De Luta in his home country. He holds a black prajied in muay thai and a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. He has been fighting professionally since 2002.

Paul “Bearjew” Craig (12-4)

Height: 6 feet, 3.5 inches

Reach: 76 in.

Age: 31

Unranked in the UFC light heavyweight division, Paul Craig has gone 3-3 in his last three appearances in the Octagon.

Craig is coming off of a win, however. He last fought on September 21 against Vinicius Moreira and defeated his opponent via rear-naked choke submission in the first round.

He was awarded performance of the night bonus for his efforts.

The Scottish fighter trains with the Scottish Hit Squad in Scotland. He has been fighting since 2013 and has a brown belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under Marcos Nardini.

UFC Fight Night 164 – ?? Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua vs Paul Craig ???????
Breakdown: https://t.co/XEiwIpUHUi
Prediction: Shogun via KO/TKO#UFC #UFCFightNight164 #UFCSaoPaulo #FightNight #Predictions #Picks #Shogun #Craig pic.twitter.com/1udcy3LLLX

— Ewan Lavender (@LavenderMMA) November 13, 2019

Charles Oliveira vs Jared Gordon – Lightweight Division

Charles Oliveira (27-8-1)

Height: 5 feet, 10 inches

Reach: 74 in.

Age: 30

Charles Oliveira heads into this bout riding a five-fight winning streak.

That streak includes wins over notable opponents such as Clay Guida, Jim Miller, and David Teymur. Most recently, on May 18, Oliveira took on Nik Lentz. Oliveira defeated Lentz via second-round TKO.

He is ranked by the UFC as the 13th-best lightweight in the world.

The Brazilian fighter will be fighting in his home city this Saturday which is also where he trains at the Chute Boxe Diego Lima gym.

Fighting since 2008, the lightweight has a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under Jorge “Macaco” Patino.

Jared “Flash” Gordon (15-3)

Height: 5 feet, 9 inches

Reach: 68 in.

Age: 31

Jared Gordon has had his ups and downs lately.

Gordon was riding a five-fight win streak through 2016 and 2017 before suffering back-to-back losses for the first time in his career in 2018.

He bounced back, however. His last fight was on June 29 in Minneapolis. There he fought Dan Moret and defeated him via unanimous decision.

Gordon is still currently unranked by the UFC.

He trains with coaches Jason Strout and Michael Jaramillo in his home state of New York. He has a brown belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under John Danaher.

Antonio Arroyo vs Andre Muniz – Middleweight Division

Antonio Arroyo (9-2)

Height: 6 feet, 2 inches

Reach: 73.5 in.

Age: 30

Antonio Arroyo is riding a five-fight winning streak as a middleweight and is set to make his UFC debut Saturday night.

His last fight came when he appeared on Dana White’s Contender Series. He fought a fighter named Diego Henrique and defeated him via unanimous decision.

The Brazilian fighter trains with the Marajo Brothers Team in Brazil.

Andre “Sergipano” Muniz (18-4)

Height: 6 feet, 2 inches

Reach: 78 in.

Age: 29

Andre Muniz has a lot in common with his opponent.

Riding a winning streak of his own (four fights, to be exact), Muniz last fought on the Dana White Contender Series. He defeated the as-of-then undefeated fighter Taylor Johnson via first-round rear-naked choke submission.

Born in Brazil, Muniz trains out of his home country with the Tata Fight Team in Montes Claros.

Markus Perez (11-2)

Height: 6 feet, 2 inches

Reach: 73 in.

Age: 29

Since joining the UFC in 2017, Markus Perez has gone 2-2.

His last fight was earlier this year on February 2. He took on Anthony Hernandez and won the bout via technical submission when Hernandez passed out from Perez’s anaconda choke.

Perez trains with coach Viscardi Andrade at his coach’s gym in Brazil.

He has a brown belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and a black prajied in muay thai. He has been fighting professionally since 2013.

Wellington Turman (15-3)

Height: 6 feet

Reach: 72 in.

Age: 23

After winning four fights in a row, Turman signed with the UFC and made his debut.

On July 13, Turman lost his debut in the Octagon to Karl Roberson via split-decision. Fighting with the Gile Ribeiro Team in Brazil, the hometown fighter looks to win his first fight under the UFC banner this Saturday night.