Here’s everything that happened at UFC Fight Night 164 last night in Sao Paulo

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Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) made its presence known to Ibirapuera Gymnasium in Sao Paulo, Brazil, last night (Sat., Nov. 16, 2019) for UFC Fight Night 164. Look, I expect everyone reading to know the drill by now: UFC put together another regional “Fight Night” card with one particularly relevant fight in the main event otherwise bolstered by action fighters and local athletes.

It’s a bit paint-by-numbers, sure, but that doesn’t mean there weren’t a few great finishes or exciting fights. Let’s take a closer look at the night’s best action!

Light Heavyweight Woes

Everyone knew the big question leading up to last night’s main event: Could Ronaldo Souza hack it at 205 lbs.? The answer, sadly, is a resounding “kind of.”

“Jacare” vs. Jan Blachowicz was not a good fight by any definition. It was, in fact, quite a bad fight. Souza’s early offense that won him a couple rounds consisted largely of failed takedown attempts and some clinch work. Blachowicz, meanwhile, was able to pull apart late in the fight on the strength of his defense and more consistent — but still minimal — output.

I’ll be honest, I just found the performances vaguely disappointing from both men. Souza reverted back to constantly shooting for poorly setup takedowns. There was none of the boxing craft he displayed in his win over Chris Weidman. Blachowicz at least got the job done, but it was far from impressive, certainly not the type of win to earn a late career title shot.

Charles Oliveira Delivers

There was a lot on the line for “Do Bronx” last night.

Oliveira entered last night’s bout having won his last five fights, finishing each of his opponents. However, this is not the first time the Brazilian submission ace has cruised into a fight with plenty of momentum behind him. Historically, Oliveira puts a few wins together, looks great, and then something goes drastically wrong.

Against yet another unranked opponent — a dangerous one at that — the risk was there. Instead, Oliveira destroyed Jared Gordon. When “Flash” attempted to pressure and force an ugly fight, the type Oliveire once struggled opposite. Instead, Oliveira calmly side stepped much of his offense, landed a few cracking low kicks, then dropped a right hand hammer into his jawline.

Let’s get that guy a step up in competition!

Additional Thoughts

• James Krause defeats Sergio Moraes via third-round knockout: Moving up to 170 lbs. has proven a brilliant move for Krause, who is better able to implement his rangy kickboxing against men who move at a similar speed. Against Moraes, Krause faced some early adversity in the form of a takedown directly into side control, but he calmly worked to escape. In the stand up, Krause’s calf kick landed early and often, disrupting Moraes movement and aggression perfectly. By the the midway point of the fight, Moraes was a sitting duck, and Krause put him down hard with a right hand near the end of the third. It was a great performance from Krause to make it six straight wins, but it’s also clear that Moraes has lost a step.
• Ricardo Ramos defeats Luis Eduardo Garagorri via first-round rear naked choke: I think most expected this match up of Featherweight prospects to be a striking battle, and early on, that was correct, as the pair traded lots of kicks at distance. However, Ramos decided to take advantage of his jiu-jitsu background before long, ducking under a right hand to land a double leg takedown. Garagorri successfully scrambled out from underneath the first takedown, but his luck when ran out on the second attempt, when the Brazilian hopped on his back and immediately locked in a choke.
• Randy Brown defeats Warlley Alves via second-round triangle choke: What a tale of two rounds! In the first, Alves caught a kick and threw his foe down with ease. Later, he took the back, coming very close to securing an early strangle. However, Brown was able to escape, and the two went back to war in the clinch. By the end of the first, Alves was tired, which allowed Brown to really get his game going in the next round. The momentum shifted as Brown landed a jump knee and head kick, but Alves fought back with a takedown. However, Brown threw up his long legs quickly, locking in a triangle choke on the jiu-jitsu black belt! Alves was clearly exhausted, as he barely moved to defend the submission as it grew deeper.

For complete UFC Fight Night 164: “Souza vs. Blachowicz” results and play-by-play, click HERE!