UFC Rio Delivers Must-See Main Card Saturday Night

Live coverage of Saturday’s card kicks off with prelims at 4 pm ET/ 1 pm PT. Main card action follows it up at 7 pm ET/ 4 pm PT. All told, if there aren’t any further 11th-hour adjustments to this weekend’s schedule, the final version of UFC Rio features a 12-fight slate from Farmasi Arena. A planned heavyweight fight that would have seen Valter Walker go up against Mohammed Usman was postponed late Thursday due to the latter being injured.

Saturday’s card is the first UFC Fight Night to emanate from Rio since early 2015. Locals in Rio de Janeiro have been waiting 10 1/2 years for this moment. This weekend, the wait will be over at long last.

UFC Rio Main Event: No. 4 Contender Charles Oliveira vs. No. 8 Contender Mateusz Gamrot

At the top of the bill on UFC Rio this Saturday night, you’ll be treated to a critical five rounds (or less) of action in the lightweight ranks. Former UFC Lightweight Champion and No. 4 contender Charles Oliveira (35-11, 1 NC MMA, 23-11, 1 NC UFC) makes the walk to the cage against No. 8 contender Mateusz Gamrot (25-3, 1 NC MMA, 8-3 UFC.)

As we’ve previously mentioned, this fight is an advertised maximum of five rounds at five minutes per round to close the show. Charles Oliveira comes into UFC Rio this Saturday having posted a 2-3 record in his last five fights. Initially, Oliveira was scheduled to have fought Rafael Fiziev on this card until the latter had to bow out of the show upon having sustained an injury.

He’s reeling from a first-round knockout defeat at the hands of Ilia Topuria (17-0 MMA, 9-0 UFC) this past June during UFC 317 at the close of International Fight Week from T-Mobile Arena, losing the UFC Lightweight Championship in the process. Oliveira is still right in the thick of the title conversation.

A win in the UFC Rio main event gives him a shot at winning the title back in 2026. With the change in opponent for Saturday’s fight, what kind of adjustment has Oliveira made to his gameplan?

Meanwhile, Mateusz Gamrot will be making his 12th walk to the UFC Octagon on Saturday night with a mark of 4-1 in his last five fights. He made a return to the win column in his May 31 fight versus L’udovit Klein (23-5-1 MMA, 7-3-1 UFC) by way of unanimous decision inside the UFC Apex.

Gamrot is inside the top-10 at 155 lbs and this is a mammoth fight for him, just as it is for Charles Oliveira. If Mateusz Gamrot bests Charles Oliveira in UFC Rio’s main event of the evening on Saturday night, he could find himself a couple of wins away from securing the lightweight title.

UFC Rio Co-Main Event: No. 6 Contender Deiveson Figuereido vs. No. 15 Contender Montel Jackson

Immediately prior to the headliner, the co-main event of the evening sees action shift to the bantamweight ranks for a contest pairing No. 6 contender Deiveson Figuereido (24-5-1 MMA, 13-5-1 UFC) against No. 15 contender Montel Jackson (15-2 MMA, 9-2 UFC.) This is a three-round fight at five minutes per round.

Deiveson Figueiredo enters this Saturday night’s co-main attraction at UFC Rio sporting a record of 3-2 in his last five contests. He’s been a streaky fighter of late, having dropped two fights in a row.

Last time out, he was on the losing end of a second-round TKO after he couldn’t press forward in the May 3 fight against Cory Sandhagen (18-6 MMA, 11-5 UFC) upon sustaining a knee injury. Figueiredo knows that Father Time has the upper-hand now and Saturday’s fight is his latest stop on the quest for an eventual UFC Bantamweight Championship, having moved up from flyweight in December of 2023.

If he swallows the bitter pill of defeat again on Saturday in UFC Rio, his future in MMA could be in question.

Across the way, Montel Jackson comes into Brazil for this week’s show having posted a perfect 5-0 mark in his last five fights. At the moment, he’s won six fights consecutively.

Much like Figueiredo, Jackson also fought in Des Moines on May 3, scoring a unanimous decision against Daniel Marcos (17-1, 1 NC MMA, 4-1, 1 NC UFC), handing the latter his first defeat as a professional. Jackson has been on the rise since joining the UFC’s active roster by way of Contender Series in 2022 and he’s focused on getting into the title picture at 135.

Can he begin his climb inside the top-15 in the division? Only time will tell.

UFC Rio: Vicente Luque vs. Joel Alvarez

Also on the UFC Rio main card this weekend is a welterweight affair matching Vicente Luque (23-11-1 MMA, 16-7 UFC) against Joel Alvarez (22-3 MMA, 7-2 UFC.) Luque makes the walk Saturday with a mark of 2-3 in his last five trips to the fabled Octagon.

Most recently, he was on the receiving end of a second-round submission (anaconda choke) vs. Kevin Holland (28-14, 1 NC MMA, 14-11, 1 NC UFC) on July 19 in UFC 318 from New Orleans. Luque was first booked to fight Santiago Ponzinibbio (30-9 MMA, 12-8 UFC) on Saturday’s main card before the latter bowed out in the wake of an injury a few weeks ago.

Luque has had nearly three months between fights and is making his 24th UFC appearance in his 35th career fight. Will he get back in the win column?

In the other corner, Joel Alvarez enters UFC Rio with a 4-1 mark throughout his five latest contests. Presently, he’s won three fights in a row.

Last time out, he finished Drakkar Klose (16-3-1 MMA, 10-3 UFC) with a first-round knockout on the 2024 UFC finale in Tampa. A planned fight in May of this year versus Benoit Saint-Denis failed to materialize.

Saturday’s contest is Alvarez’s first in north of 10 months’ time. What has he done to shake off the ring rust?

Rest of the Card

The UFC Rio main card is rounded out by these fights:

• A heavyweight contest between Jhonata Diniz (9-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) and Mario Pinto (10-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC,)
• a featherweight affair matching Ricardo Ramos (17-7 MMA, 8-6 UFC) against Kaan Ofli (11-4-1 MMA, 0-2 UFC,)
• and a featherweight bout versing Lucas Almeida (15-4 MMA, 2-3 UFC) with Michael Aswell (10-3 MMA, 0-1 UFC.)

Which fight or fights on the main card are you looking forward to on Saturday’s main card?