On Friday night, we were treated to four action-packed bouts on the UFC Fight Night 50 main card and six more on the preliminary card. The main event was a rematch between Gegard Mousasi and Jacare Souza, a match that Mousasi won by knockout. This time around, the middleweight fight came with title implications.
Both men put up valiant efforts, picking their spots early with jabs and remaining cautious of sharp strikes, but it was Souza emerging victorious with a well-timed guillotine to finish off his opponent in the third round.
Preceding the final bout was a main card boasting three fights which included a clash between heavyweights Alistair Overeem and Ben Rothwell. Overeem was looking to get back on track after a couple of recent lackluster showings, but Rothwell’s raw power was simply too much for him to handle.
While Rothwell won the fight, he may have suffered a broken arm, according to Heidi Fang of Fox Sports:
Luckily for Rothwell, he was able to finish off Overeem in the first round. While suffering a broken arm certainly wasn’t in his plans, he proved to everyone that he’s a force to be reckoned with.
The preliminary card was scheduled for six fights; however, an illness suffered by Charles Oliviera didn’t allow him to meet his weight, and the fight was cancelled. With all of the fights now officially in the books, here’s a look at the outcome of each, followed by a recap of the night’s main event.
Souza vs. Mousasi Recap
Early in Round 1, both fighters began to feel each other out, neither wanting to step into a dangerous situation out of the gate. Souza broke the deadlock with a couple takedown attempts, but Mousasi fended each off nicely.
Shortly after, both fighters clinched up. Mousasi found an opportunity to land a few elbows; however, it was short lived, as he was quickly dumped to the mat by his opponent. Shades of the fighters’ first bout were apparent briefly, as Mousasi attempted an upkick, but Souza escaped damage.
MMAFighting.com tweeted the Dream 9 flashback:
Souza was able to get Mousasi in half guard on the ground; however, Jacare couldn’t do much damage due to some nice defense from Mousasi. Still, Souza dominated the round, gaining control of his opponent both against the cage and on the ground for the majority of the opening five minutes.
Wasting little time out of the gate in Round 2, Souza noticed Mousasi keeping a low guard. He quickly capitalized and rocked his opponent with a big right. Bleacher Report MMA tweeted the crowd’s reaction to the shot:
The domination by Souza continued well into the second round. He just appeared far more powerful than Mousasi, taking him down to the ground at will and looking for a kimura. Souza clearly had the upper hand in the waning seconds of the round, but the buzzer sent the fighters back to their corners.
Fang tweeted her take on the fight to this point:
Souza began Round 3 in similar fashion. He worked Mousasi back against the cage, resulting in an immediate takedown. Mousasi was able to get himself standing, which was impressive considering the amount of exertion he endured to that point.
With both fighters standing, they exchanged punches, but Souza was overpowering once again, pushing Mousasi back against the cage. This time, Souza grabbed his opponent’s head in the corner and locked him into a guillotine. Too much to handle, Mousasi quickly tapped, losing by submission in the third round.
UFC on Fox tweeted the result:
Fang tweeted a message from Souza to his doubters following his victory:
The loss dropps Mousasi’s record to 35-5-2, and continues his roller-coaster Fight Night showings. He’s now 1-2 over his last three bouts, defeating Mark Munoz, but losing to Lyoto Machida and Souza.
As for Souza, the victory continued his glowing performances since joining the UFC. He holds and all-time record of 21-3-0, but won his last four consecutive UFC fights. With the win, is could be speculated he’s in line for a bout against the winner of Chris Weidman versus Vitor Belfort at UFC 181 in December.
Souza certainly thinks he’s deserving of a title shot, and Damon Martin of Fox Sports agrees:
Could Souza’s grappling clinic he displayed on Friday night propel him to the top of the middleweight class? We may know sooner than originally anticipated.
Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com