Photo by Michael Owens/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

This Saturday (Nov. 16, 2019), Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) travels to Sao Paulo, Brazil, for UFC Fight Night 164. This may come as a shock to our readers, but the latest “Fight Night” event in Brazil features — wait for it — a bunch of Brazilian scrappers! Luckily, there’s a fun mix of up-and-coming talent and old school killers, so let’s analyze some main card fights!

Remember: Later in the week, Jesse Holland will be back to preview and predict the biggest fights of the night.

Middleweight: Markus Perez vs. Wellington Turman

Best Win for Perez? Anthony Hernandez For Turman? Marcio Alexandre Jr.
Current Streak: Perez enters off a win, Turman following a close defeat
X-Factor: Perez’s slick submission game
How these two match up: I hope everyone is excited for even more Middleweight grappling.

Perez has evenly split four fights in the Octagon, proving himself something of a wild man in the process. He’s a jiu-jitsu fighter with fairly mediocre takedowns, but Perez can surprise his foes with a spinning back fist or ripping body kick on the feet. Plus, if he does hit the mat, Perez is quite dangerous.

Turman was handed an incredibly difficult task in his UFC debut, when he squared off with Karl Roberson in Sacramento. The Brazilian nevertheless found a great deal of success with his wrestling, only to controversially lose the decision anyway.

Turman is the younger fight by eight years.

Perez is likely the more dangerous hitter, but neither of these men are particularly great strikers. Instead, it seems a match up of Turman’s wrestling and top control vs. Perez’s jiu-jitsu acumen. Perez is genuinely dangerous on the mat, and a submission would not surprise me, but betting on the better wrestler is the safer play.

Plus, there’s always a chance that no takedown is scored, and Turman wins just by holding him against the fence.

Prediction: Turman via decision

Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC Fight Night 164 fight card this weekend, starting with the ESPN+“Prelims” that are scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. ET, then the main card portion that will also stream on ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET.

To check out the latest and greatest UFC Fight Night 164: “Jacare vs. Blachowicz” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.

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