Blood
UFC Sao Paulo – New Blood: Kaue and The Contenders
Nov
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) heads to Ibirapuera Gymnasium in Sao Paulo, Brazil, this Saturday (Nov. 4, 2023) for its penultimate international show of the year, bringing with it a quartet trio of new Brazilian signings. On this edition of “New Blood” — the series that never ceases to frustrate — we checkout two Contender Series graduates and a new Lightweight out of Nova Uniao.
As always, episodes from the most recent Contender Series season can be found on ESPN+.
Photo by Mike Roach/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
Kaynan “Bahia” Kruschewsky
Weight Class: Lightweight
Age: 32
Record: 15-1 (4 KO, 9 SUB)
Notable Victories: Dylan Mantello, Thierry Lucas, Adriano Martins
Kruschewky claimed Jungle Fight gold with a guillotine finish of John David, then broke down Thierry Lucas in his inaugural title defense. He took his talents to Contender Series five months later, demolishing Dylan Mantello to claim a UFC contract.
He steps in for Esteban Ribovics on around five days’ notice.
Despite the ratio of finishes, Kruschewsky is primarily a Dutch-style Muay Thai specialist. Stalking opponents from a tall, upright stance, he uses low kicks and a steady diet of combination punches to break down opponents from a distance. If they don’t retreat under fire, he’ll use those combinations to set up a Thai plum and slam home knees and elbows. Fairly prototypical stuff, but he does it well, especially in the way he consistently mixes up his head and body punches.
Also of note are his elbows on the break, solid jab and surprisingly quick lead right, which repeatedly tagged Mantello.
While he’s got your standard Muay Thai strengths, he’s also got your standard Muay Thai weaknesses. He stands very square and leaves his chin up, often relying on leaning away from incoming punches. If he doesn’t see a punch coming, whether through speed or misdirection, he’s there to be hit. On top of that, it seems fairly easy to back him to the fence. After four rounds of nothing, Lucas found his only success of the fight by trying to bully Kruschewsky in the fifth, but he’d absorbed too many low kicks to do anything with it. Similarly, the very limited David landed some gnarly shots on a fading Kruschewsky before sticking his head in a guillotine.
He can also telegraph his entries a bit, especially when leading with the hook. His success will largely boil down to whether he can get his opponents’ respect, as he’ll likely struggle with durable pressure fighters.
On the grappling side, all those submissions came by either guillotine or rear naked choke. He’s got some offensive wrestling up his sleeve, as seen in his outside trip against Lucas and double-leg against Mantello. He’s very quick to take the back and equally adept at staying there. Defensively, he gave up some early takedowns to David while chasing the front headlock, so we’ll see if he’ll become the latest guillotine specialist to die by that sword.
“Solid” is the word that comes to mind. Kruschewsky has some noteworthy weaknesses and lacks an X-factor with which to break through true contention, but he’s a capable offensive striker who can reach the middle of the Lightweight pack with favorable matchmaking. His debut looks rough, though, as Elves Brener is durable and aggressive enough to keep him on the back foot.
Photo by Mike Roach/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
Eduarda “Ronda” Moura
Weight Class: Strawweight
Age: 29
Record: 9-0 (3 KO, 5 SUB)
Notable Victories: Janaina Silva
Moura — a training partner of UFC Heavyweight contender, Jailton Almeida — ended seven of her first eight professional fights inside the distance. Her efforts carried her to Contender Series, where she choked out Janaina Silva to secure a contract.
“Ronda” is another one of those fighters who wins too quickly for me to get a lot of useful data — the two recent videos I found comprised 8:26 in total. I wanted to watch last year’s split decision over 12-14 Aline Sattelmayer at Demo Fight 14, but the YouTube channel that hosts those videos made that fight (and only that fight) private.
Like “Maladinho,” Moura is a top control specialist. She’s got an impressively fast level change for someone so lanky and is quick to finish double-legs as soon as she locks her hands. Once on top, she patiently works her way through her opponent’s guard while waiting for opportunities to explode with nasty ground-and-pound that takes full advantage of her long limbs. Those shots are great at provoking reactions that she can capitalize on to take the back, where she’s startlingly quick to slip her forearm under her opponent’s chin and force the tap.
What little I’ve seen of her standup reveals some decent straight punches, though she does stand very tall and flat-footed. It’s there to set up her double-legs more than anything else, but seems reasonably developed.
Moura’s wrestling and top control definitely look UFC-worthy. The jury’s out on her striking, but Almeida has done quite well for himself with basic setups and an unstoppable double-leg, so Moura should be alright against the majority of unranked UFC Strawweights. That includes debut foe Montserrat Ruiz, whose one-note head-and-arm attack failed her badly in her last two fights.
Photo by Mike Roach/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
Kaue Fernandes
Weight Class: Lightweight
Age: 27
Record: 8-1 (4 KO, 2 SUB)
Notable Victories: Felipe Douglas, Jose Arly
Nova Uniao’s Fernandes racked up six professional wins before cardio failure allowed Luann Sardinha to battle back from adversity and hand him his first defeat. Undaunted, he returned one year later to score two rapid first-round finishes.
Sorry to sound like a broken record, but tape is at a premium here as well. Fernandes has fought three times in the last four years and two of those lasted a combined 2:13. To make things worse, his Sept. 2022 body kick knockout of Jose Arly was buried too deep in the “Prelims” for Fight Pass to carry the video. The bulk of my data comes from his 2021 decision loss to Luann Sardinha.
Fernandes looked like $1 million in the first round of that fight. Fighting out of a long stance, he circled the stalking Sardinha with a simple-but-effective arsenal: stabbing jabs, right low kicks, and switch kicks to the head and body. It didn’t take him long to snatch up a body lock and trip him down, where he alternated between guard, half guard, and side control while landing steady punches. His balance on top looked excellent and he showed some impressive slickness in taking Sardinha’s back, which I should have expected considering he’s a Nova Uniao black belt.
Things quickly fell apart for him, though. Outside of the jab, Fernandes’ punches are downright ugly, and rapid-onset fatigue prompted him to plant his feet and try to slug it out with Sardinha. He did land a takedown partway through the second, but Sardinha quickly stood and used a front headlock to force Fernandes to his back. Though Fernandes tried some armbars, he spent the rest of the fight getting beaten up on both the ground and the feet, showing off an impressive chin and little else as he desperately tried to brawl.
Fernandes clearly has the skills to be a menace. When he’s fresh, he’s a nasty mix of slick kicks, strong wrestling, and great top control. The question is whether he has enough gas to remain a menace for more than a round. Last March’s bout with Felipe Douglas didn’t last long enough to answer that question; Fernandes showed his usual blend of low kicks, switch kicks, and jabs before grabbing the clinch and landing a Peter Aerts-style head kick on the break to knock Douglas out cold.
With a strong technical base, a great camp, and plenty of time to improve further, Fernandes’ future looks bright if he gets that gas tank under control. His UFC debut against Marc Diakiese looks like a coin flip; Diakiese is a solid wrestler and can probably grind Fernandes out, but he’s also lost all faith in his striking, so Fernandes should have the edge at a distance despite Diakiese’s reach.
His Legacy Fighting Alliance (LFA) bouts are on Fight Pass.
LIVE! Stream UFC Sao Paulo On ESPN+
NEW SCHOOL VS. OLD SCHOOL HEAVYWEIGHT SHOWDOWN! Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) returns to Ibirapuera Gymnasium in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on Sat., Nov. 4, 2023, with all-time Octagon knockout record holder, Derrick Lewis, stepping in on short notice to face surging prospect, Jailton Almeida, in the ESPN+-streamed main event. In UFC Sao Paulo’s co-main event, undefeated submission stylist, Gabriel Bonfim (15-0), looks to keep his perfect record intact at the expense of Nicolas Dalby in a Welterweight showdown.
Don’t miss a single second of face-punching action!
Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC Sao Paulo fight card right here, starting with the ESPN+ “Prelims” matches, which are scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. ET, then the remaining main card balance (also on ESPN+) at 9 p.m. ET.
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