After 25 minutes, it looked like “Jacare” Souza had probably done enough to win his 205 debut at UFC Sao Paulo, but two judges scored the conservative, plodding bout for Jan Blachowicz.

Round one

Souza shot in moments into the fight and pushed Blachowicz to the cage. Souza tried tripping Blachowicz down but was unable to. After a lengthy battle, which saw Souza land several knees, Blachowicz worked his way out. Souza missed with a big right and then clinched up again. A few boos started to ring out as the clinch work continued.

Round two

Blachowicz tagged Souza with a hard right not long into round two and the latter returned fire. Blachowicz planted a hard leg kick moments later. Souza moved forward and shot in, but once again, Blachowicz defended and the clinch work resumed. More boos rang out as the fight continued in the clinch. Blachowicz eventually circled out, and not long after, he just missed with a nice right. Souza scored with a leg kick and then a hard right.

Round three

Both men traded punches and calf kicks to begin round three. Blachowicz scored with a few jabs and once again, Souza clinched up. Blachowicz worked his way out and the two traded leg kicks. Souza missed a huge right and then changed levels, looking for a takedown. Blachowicz defended and circled out. Shortly before the round ended, Souza grazed Blachowicz with a big overhand right and the Polish fighter fired back.

Round four

Souza continued to press forward in round four and Blachowicz tried to counter. Blachowicz cracked Souza with a nice uppercut as the latter clinched up. Boos started up once more as the clinch battle ensued (and many fans started waving their phones). Blachowicz broke away and scored with a calf kick, before planting a kick to the body as well. Blachowicz pressed forward for the remainder of the round and continued to throw kicks. In between rounds, the camera showed that Blachowicz’s left foot was badly swollen.

Round five

Blachowicz continued to throw kicks with his left leg to begin round five. Souza shot in again for a takedown, but Blachowicz defended once more. Blachowicz came with a flurry as he broke away from the clinch, but Souza tried yet another takedown. The action slowed and more jeers and boos rang out. Souza shot in but it looked like Blachowicz tagged him with a left hook that pushed him back. Shortly before the round ended, Blachowicz threw a head kick that missed.

Somewhat surprisingly, two of the three judges awarded the bout to Blachowicz.

Here are the complete results for UFC Sao Paulo.

Jan Blachowicz def. “Jacare” Souza via split decision (48-47, 47-48, 48-47)

Mauricio Rua vs. Paul Craig declared a split draw (29-28, 28-29, 28-28)

Charles Oliveira def. Jared Gordon via KO (punches) R1, 1:26

Andre Muniz def. Antonio Arroyo via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Wellington Turman def. Markus Perez via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

James Krause def. Sergio Moraes via knockout (punch) – R3, 4:19

Ricardo Ramos def. Eduardo Garagorri via submission (rear-naked choke) – R1, 3:57

Francisco Trinaldo def. Bobby Green via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)

Randy Brown def. Warlley Alves via submission (triangle choke) – R2, 1:22

Douglas Silva de Andrade def. Renan Barao via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)

Ariane Lipski def. Isabella de Padua via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 29-27)

Tracy Cortez def. Vanessa Melo via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)

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