Earlier this year at UFC 239, Jan Blachowicz rudely welcomed Luke Rockhold to the light heavyweight division.
Now, Blachowicz wants to add another former Strikeforce champion to his resume.
Blachowicz takes on Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza this Saturday in the main event of UFC Fight Night 164. The event takes place from Sao Paulo, Brazil and the Ginasio do Ibirapuera, airing live on ESPN+.
Greetings from Rio de Janeiro?? #UFCSaoPaulo
Check the link to my fan t-shirt powered by @MantoUsaDotCom ?
⤵️https://t.co/dOBv7ccpcU pic.twitter.com/Bwb0GLegmv— Jan Blachowicz (@JanBlachowicz) November 1, 2019
Back in July, Blachowicz improved to 24-8 with a convincing second round knockout of Rockhold in Las Vegas. The victory earned him a “Performance of the Night” bonus.
It was also the biggest win to date for the fighter, as Rockhold is a former Strikeforce and UFC middleweight champion. Blachowicz has earned nine wins by submission and six more via knockout in his career.
This will be another opportunity for Blachowicz, as Souza is moving up to 205 pounds for the contest. The Brazilian will have the home-crowd advantage, but Blachowicz the size edge.
Time to hunt ? #witcher #wiedzmin https://t.co/O0i2s0x9Ql
— Jan Blachowicz (@JanBlachowicz) October 31, 2019
For The “Prince of Cieszyn,” there is no better time than the present to impose his will. A former KSW light heavyweight champion, Blachowicz is right on the cusp of title contention.
New adventure ? ? thanks to Michał Czernik and Śmigłowcowa Kadra Narodowa. I think I’ll finally start to like flying ?@ufc #UFCSaoPaulo #countdown pic.twitter.com/Ws0U3WPnv9
— Jan Blachowicz (@JanBlachowicz) October 27, 2019
Souza has gone just 2-3 over his last five. That includes a recent decision defeat at the hands of Jack Hermansson.
His last appearance in Brazil resulted in a split decision defeat to Kelvin Gastelum, and he hasn’t won in the country since 2014.
UFC Fight Night 164: Blachowicz Vs. Jacare Fight Card
Em 16 de novembro, o Ultimate retorna a São Paulo com evento liderado pelo duelo entre o polonês @JanBlachowicz e o brasileiro @JacareMMA. No co-main event, a lenda @ShogunRua encara escocês @PCraigmma.
Garanta o seu ingresso >> https://t.co/NV1jLwb1xX pic.twitter.com/Y7I7le909x
— UFC Brasil (@UFCBrasil) November 6, 2019
MAIN CARD (ESPN+)
Light Heavyweight: Jan Blachowicz vs. Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza
Light Heavyweight: Mauricio “Shogun” Rua vs. Paul Craig
Lightweight: Charles Oliveira vs. Jared Gordon
Middleweight: Antonio Arroyo vs. Andre Muniz
Middleweight: Markus Perez vs. Wellington Turman
PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+)
Welterweight: Sergio Moraes vs. James Krause
Featherweight: Ricardo Ramos vs. Luiz Eduardo Garagorri
Lightweight: Francisco Trinaldo vs. Bobby Green
Welterweight: Warlley Alves vs. Randy Brown
Featherweight: Douglas Silva de Andrade vs. Renan Barao
Female Bantamweight: Vanessa Melo vs. Tracy Cortez
Female Flyweight: Ariana Lipski vs. Veronica Macedo