UFC São Paulo took place on Saturday, November 16. The Fight Night card saw Jan Blachowicz win a decision over Jacare Souza in the main event, while Shogun Rua and Paul Craig fought to a split draw in the co-main event. Today we’ll look into what’s next for the cast of 2019’s final trip to Brazil.
Jan Blachowicz
A win over Souza should not push Blachowicz too far up in the rankings, seeing as how Souza was making his 205 lb debut. Blachowicz still sits behind Thiago Santos, Anthony Smith, Dominick Reyes and Corey Anderson in the light heavyweight division. With Smith and Santos both returning from injury, that leaves Reyes and Anderson available. Rumors are circulating that Reyes will get the next crack at the title. Wich leaves Corey Anderson as the odd man out. Unless the UFC feels like Santos would make for a better number one contender fight, the next move is more than likely Blachowicz fighting Anderson for the number one contender slot.
Jan’s Next Fight: Corey Anderson
Jacare Souza
As far as who Souza will fight next, we need to understand how the UFC may have valued his loss this past weekend. Blachowicz is looked at as an up-and-coming title contender. A loss to Blachowicz should not been looked at like a huge negative. Souza is likely looking at another top ten opponent for his next fight. The first name that jumps off the paper is Glover Teixeria. Teixeria currently sits at number nine in the light heavyweight rankings. He is also on a three fight winning streak, most recently beating Nikita Krylov in September. Both Souza and Teixeria are extremely skilled on the ground. One could argue that there has never been a more competitive jujitsu fight at light heavyweight on paper. Another option for Souza would be Anthony Smith. Smith is 4-1 at light heavyweight, with his only loss being to Jon Jones for the title. While in the meantime, beating guys like Volkan Oezdemir and Alexander Gustafsson. A fight with Smith could be best possible situation for Souza, as he will be coming off a loss in his light heavyweight debut.
Jacare’s Next Fight: Glover Teixeria
Shogun vs. Paul Craig
Although this fight ended in a draw, it was not shy of action. Rua had his moments in the fight along with Craig. Both men were just unable to push themselves ahead on the score card. It should just be known that when fighters fight to a draw, their next fight should be a rematch. This should be the case because otherwise, the question will always be what if. What if Shogun won? What if Craig won? Nobody moves forward in the rankings, so there seems there could be something needing to be settled. Both fighters have already expressed a willingness to run it back.
Next Fight: Rematch
Ricardo Ramos
Ramos finished Luiz Garagorri this past weekend with a first round submission. This brings his total to 14 wins, with seven of them coming by submission. This win should spring him forward in the featherweight division. Sitting at number 15 at featherweight is Ryan Hall. Hall is an up-and-coming submission prospect, holding an 8-1 record with five of those wins coming by submission. With the UFC community thinking Hall will be the next big thing as far as jiu-jitsu in the UFC, Ramos would be a great challenge. It’s an iInteresting fight for both men as Hall would like to establish himself as the best grappler in the UFC, while Ramos would look to keep climbing the ranks.
Ramos’ Next Fight: Ryan Hall
What’s Up Next After UFC São Paulo?
The UFC will be taking the next three weeks off before returning on December 7th in Washington DC. Alistair Overeem and Jairzinho Rozenstruik are headlining the card. The event will take place at the Capital One Arena, with the early prelims being shown on ESPN+ and the remainder of the card being shown on big ESPN.
