Friday night, UFC Fight Night 50 marked the UFC’s return to Connecticut. It was a show that was less than 10 miles from its competitor, Bellator, and featured an important middleweight main event.
That main event, a rematch between Gegard Mousasi and Ronaldo Souza, had big title-picture implications. When it was all said and done, Souza choked out Mousasi in impressive fashion, giving him revenge on Mousasi.
What did we learn from this bout? Let’s take a look in the aftermath.
What We’ll Remember About This Fight
The finish of the fight. It came out of nowhere, which is why fans didn’t know how to respond, but it was sneaky and fantastic.
Souza finished a man that owned a brutal finish over him a few years ago. Not only that, but he made him tap out to a tight, vicious guillotine choke that was quite underrated in its performance.
It wasn’t the most exciting fight on the card, but it was definitely a nice finish for “Jacare.”
What We Learned from Mousasi
He still needs to improve his takedown defense. We all knew that was his biggest weakness as a fighter, and he has come a long way, but he simply is not good enough to ward off high-level takedown artists.
It’s what lost him his title to King Mo Lawal and it’s what lost him his fight here. He is well-rounded, but counter wrestling will continue to haunt him.
What We Learned from Souza
He is the top contender. With his current run in the UFC and the performances he is cranking out, there is no doubt he should fight the winner of Chris Weidman vs. Vitor Belfort.
His striking is vastly improved and he is probably the best jiu-jitsu fighter in the middleweight division. That type of skill set matches up interestingly against Chris Weidman, especially.
What’s Next for Mousasi?
Moving forward, Mousasi has some options here. He is still a top-10 fighter that can be a big challenge for anybody in the division.
One good matchup would be against Cung Le. I know Le doesn’t fight very often, but his kickboxing against Mousasi‘s boxing would be extremely fun to watch.
Another matchup could be against Nate Marquardt, who recently righted the ship against James Te Huna. Both guys have similar styles that could produce one helluva fight.
What’s Next for Souza?
I think I made it clear before, Souza should take on the winner of Weidman-Belfort next. His performances speak for themselves.
He matches up well against either guy and is a serious threat to take UFC gold.
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