Mauricio Rua has a new opponent for UFC Sao Paulo.
Four days after Sam Alvey pulled out of a co-main event clash with “Shogun” in Brazil with a broken hand, Paul Craig has agreed to step in to face the former UFC and PRIDE champion on Nov. 16 in Sao Paulo, Brazil, the promotion announced on Tuesday.
Craig (12-4) has bounced between wins and losses ever since he got into the UFC in 2016. The Scottish light heavyweight was last seen in the cage submitting Vinicius Moreira at UFC Mexico City in September, improving to 2-1 in 2019. All three of those bouts ended via submission.
Rua (26-11) hasn’t competed since a third-round knockout win over Tyson Pedro in Dec. 2018. “Shogun” was riding three-fight winning streak over Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Corey Anderson and Gian Villante before losing to Anthony Smith in July 2018.
Headlined by Jan Blachowicz vs. “Jacare” Souza, the UFC Fight Night event is restored as a 12-bout fight card.
Jan Blachowicz vs. Ronaldo Souza
Mauricio Rua vs. Paul Craig
Charles Oliveira vs. Jared Gordon
Antonio Arroyo vs. Andre Muniz
Markus Perez vs. Wellington Turman
Sergio Moraes vs. James Krause
Ricardo Ramos vs. Luiz Eduardo Garagorri
Francisco Trinaldo vs. Bobby Green
Warlley Alves vs. Randy Brown
Douglas Silva de Andrade vs. Renan Barao
Ariane Lipski vs. Priscila Cachoeira
Tracy Cortez vs. Vanessa Melo