Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza rests his case.
Souza made his final push toward No. 1 contender status in the middleweight division on Friday, as he battered, fatigued and ultimately submitted Gegard Mousasi in the main event of UFC Fight Night 50.
Undefeated since Sept. 2011 and now the winner of four straight fights in the Octagon, there’s simply no denying he should be next up for the winner of Chris Weidman’s December title defense against Vitor Belfort.
I know it. You know it. Jacare knows it, too.
“If anyone doubts that, they’re completely wrong,” Souza said through an interpreter in the cage after the fight was over. “Lyoto (Machida) fought this guy (Mousasi) for five rounds. I finished him before the fight ended. I’m next for the title.”
UFC President Dana White was effusive in his praise for Jacare, but stopped well short of agreeing he’d earned a shot at the championship. In fact, he implied the opposite.
“You can’t say the guy’s next in line for the title when somebody (else) is already next in line for the title,” White told Ariel Helwani on the Fox Sport 1 postfight show. “Obviously, Jacare looked incredible tonight, he put on a great performance and I’m sure he’ll fight again before we talk about title shots.”
Timing, of course, is everything in situations like this. With a few months yet before Weidman and Belfort can settle their differences, the UFC will no doubt want to press Souza back into action. From a purely competitive standpoint, however, it’s clear he has nothing left to prove.
By notching victory via third-round guillotine choke, Jacare avenged a six-year-old loss to Mousasi. He also became the first man to stop the enigmatic 29-year-old since Akihiro Gono did it at a Pride Bushido event in 2006. Though Mousasi has been inconsistent and approached this bout as nearly a two-to-one underdog, he’s always been considered a tough out.
Souza appeared to put him away with relative ease.
Would it be the same against Weidman, assuming the new champion is able to best Belfort at the end of the year? Probably not. Weidman’s skill set is essentially the exact opposite of Mousasi’s style. His wrestling and submission game might well cancel out what Jacare does best.
Yet after this weekend’s performance, there is no one else in the 185-pound division fans should want to see give the champion his next test.
Coming into the fight, it was thought Mousasi would have to control the distance to have a chance against Souza. The Dutch-trained kickboxer would have to keep Jacare at the end of his lanky jab, use his footwork to stay off the cage and pepper the multi-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion with strikes.
He could do none of those things.
Instead, it was Jacare who determined the range. Time and time again he was able to slip past Mousasi’s defenses, pin him against the chain link and dump him on the canvas. Once there, the bout was solidly in Souza’s world.
Mousasi managed to stave him off in the early going, refusing to let Jacare pass his guard, while looking fairly busy with punches and hammerfists from his back. Midway through the first, he even threatened with a surprising, but brief triangle attempt.
As things wore on though, Souza proved to be too much. His tireless top game was exhausting even to watch, and by the time the second round came to a close, he was finding greater and greater success.
In the third round, Jacare finally managed to climb over Mousasi’s legs and lock up a choke. With his right arm trapped by Souza’s left leg, Mousasi couldn’t escape and was forced to offer a tap hidden from view of referee Herb Dean. A smiling Jacare alerted Dean to the concession.
All told it was an out-and-out grappling clinic, but perhaps the biggest surprise was that Jacare also got the better of the significant stand-up exchanges. His punches are still winging haymakers, a far cry from the technical strikes possessed by Mousasi, but they sure looked like they hurt when they landed.
Souza came into this bout No. 4 on the UFC’s official middleweight rankings. Belfort (No. 3) is set for his chance at Weidman, while No. 2 Machida already got his at UFC 175 and No. 1 Anderson Silva is still working his way back from injury. Barring a loss, the only fighter who could potentially leapfrog Jacare is Luke Rockhold (No. 5), who fights Michael Bisping in November.
For Jacare, though, the course is clear.
Get this man a title shot at his earliest possible convenience.
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