Tag: Social Reaction

Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza put himself back into title contention at UFC 198 with a first-round technical-knockout win over Vitor Belfort in the co-main event in Brazil on Saturday.

 MMAFighting.com provided the official time of the stoppage:

The striker vs. grappler narrative was apparent in the early going. Belfort appeared to be the crisper kickboxer in the opening minutes, but it didn’t take long for Souza to get the fight to the ground, where he showed his apparent grappling advantage.

Jacare used aggressive ground-and-pound moves to open a nasty cut around Belfort’s eye. After the doctor allowed the fight to continue, Belfort was able to work to his feet for a moment, but that success was short-lived.

Souza took Belfort down again and worked his way into a mount. From there, a steady onslaught of strikes forced the referee to call the fight before the first bell rang.

Brett Okamoto of ESPN.com commented on the impressive performance by Souza:

Jacare had to be relieved to have his hand raised again. His last fight against Yoel Romero saw him lose a close split decision that snapped an eight-fight win streak that included seven finishes.

The win against Belfort helped him recoup some of that lost momentum. The two fighters entered the fight ranked No. 2 and No. 3 in the middleweight division in the UFC rankings.

With the champion, Luke Rockhold, and the No. 1 fighter, Chris Weidman, set for a rematch at UFC 199, it makes sense for Souza to be the next in line to face the winner of that fight. 

If the champion is able to hold serve and beat Weidman again, it would give Jacare a familiar opponent. Rockhold took Souza’s middleweight Strikeforce title in 2011. The opportunity for Jacare to return the favor would make for an interesting storyline going forward. 

Souza maintains that won’t be his motivation, though. He’s focused only on getting UFC gold around his waist, per Brent Brookhouse of MMAjunkie:

To fight for the belt is my ultimate goal. It’s where I want to get to. I think this fight accredits me to get that title shot. I don’t see it going any other way. My main focus is getting to that title shot.

My goal is to get the belt. I’m not focusing on any specific fighter. My goal is to win this fight and fight for the belt.

It’s safe to say Souza isn’t the same fighter he was in 2011. Nor is Rockhold. Both have proved they can compete with anyone in the UFC, and enough time has passed to make the matchup the best fight the UFC could put together in the 185-pound division.

The loss also put Belfort at a crossroads. At 39 years old, with 36 professional fights to his name, it’s fair to wonder how long he will or should stick around. His No. 3 ranking would have you believe he’s still a top middleweight, but the odds that he’ll get another crack at the title plummeted Saturday.

He does own a win over the current champion, but that doesn’t necessarily mean another shot at the title. 

Belfort could settle into being a Brazilian attraction for the UFC. He’s fought in the country in four of his last five fights, and the organization will always have use for fighters with name recognition in the market. 

However, his days as a contender could be over after Saturday’s loss.

In the battle of highly ranked Brazilians, Souza earned the potential rematch with Rockhold and a shot at the title.

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Mauricio “Shogun” Rua turned back the clock at UFC 198 and picked up a split-decision win against Corey Anderson on the main card in Curitiba, Brazil, on Saturday.

MMAjunkie tweeted out the scorecards:

The bout got off to an inauspicious start, with both guys gauging distance and Anderson respecting Shogun’s power.

Rua, 34, showed that he still has plenty of power in his hands, flooring his 26-year-old opponent to close out the round and likely take the opening stanza on the cards. 

The UFC tweeted out the highlight of Rua rushing Anderson:

Shogun wasn’t able to immediately capitalize on the strong finish to the round, though. Anderson came out in the second round and looked more comfortable with his legendary opponent. He scored two takedowns and threw combinations.

Then it was deja vu. Rua finished the round with a thunderous hook that again put Anderson on the mat to end the round.

The third frame was comfortably Anderson’s. The younger fighter was able to impose his will in the clinch and with takedowns while stifling Shogun’s ability to inflict damage in the stand-up. As Jack Slack of Vice noted, it created an interesting judging conundrum, as Rua’s late surge in the second round made things murky:

In the end, it was enough to win the fight on two judges’ cards. 

The win not only gave Shogun a great moment in his home country but also a bit of revitalization to his career. His victory over Anderson gave him a two-fight win streak. That might not seem like much, but it’s the first time he’s put together back-to-back wins since he defeated Mark Coleman and Chuck Liddell in 2009.

Despite the 3-4 record in his last seven fights, Rua still carries some weight in the light heavyweight division. He entered Saturday’s bout ranked No. 8 in the UFC rankings. 

Now, Rua appears to be ready to aim his sights at the man just one position above him in those rankings—Rashad Evans.

“Rashad was injured once, then we were supposed to fight again and I got hurt,” Rua said, per John Morgan and Fernanda Prates of MMAjunkie. “I think a fight with him is inevitable.”

Given the UFC 198 win, Rua has likely staved off any retirement talk, and a fight against Evans makes sense. Rua’s subpar record since 2009 hasn’t kept him from being a consistent presence on UFC cards in Brazil. His last four fights have all taken place in his home country. 

While the win should extend Rua’s relevance for a while longer, it will also stunt the growth of one of the light heavyweight division’s few young contenders. Anderson was the highest-ranked fighter under 30 years old in the 205-pound division, coming into the fight at No. 12.

After defeating Tom Lawlor in his last fight, the Ultimate Fighter 19 winner had a chance to prove that he belongs in the Top 10. Now, he’ll have to bounce back from his first loss since being knocked out by Gian Villante at UFC on Fox 15.

There’s still time for the 26-year-old to turn things around, but this loss will slow that development. For now, the 205-pound division is still ruled by the elder statesmen of the game.

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Phil Davis won a controversial unanimous decision over Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal in the main event at Bellator 154 in San Jose, California, on Saturday. The fight was close, and either man could have come out on top—but the wide margin on the scorecards had to have raised some eyebrows. 

Per MMAFighting.com, Davis won 30-27 on two cards and 29-28 on the third. The loss snapped Mo’s seven-fight win streak and earned Davis a shot at Bellator light heavyweight champion Liam McGeary.

Despite the fact that Mo looked to have the narrow edge in the first two rounds, he failed to win a round on two of the judges’ scorecards.

The MMA community was vocal in their disappointment of the judges who scored it a clean sweep for Davis. 

Combat Press’ Rob Tatum and MMA fighter Rex Highwalker chimed in:

To put it plainly, there’s no way Davis won all three rounds. In the first frame, he didn’t appear to connect with anything significant, and Mo did the better work with pressure and accurate strikes. In the second frame, things were closer, but one could make the case that Mo won that round as well.

The last round was all Davis, though.

He badly hurt Mo with a straight right hand. As his opponent wobbled, Davis threw another punch that landed. Instead of trying to finish Mo on the feet, Davis took the fight to the ground. He tried for a kimura and armbar but couldn’t get the submission.

Mo got back to his feet with some nifty transitions and survived the round.

When it was over, McGeary came into the cage to confront Davis and begin the hype for the title fight, but it’ll be hard to forget the questionable scorecards.

Davis did an excellent job of staying away from most of Mo’s big strikes, but he didn’t do anything to win the bout until the final round. At any rate, he got the decision and will move on to a bigger opportunity.

As for Mo, this wasn’t the first time he’s gotten the short end of the stick in a close bout in Bellator. When he took on Quinton “Rampage” Jackson in 2014, it appeared as though Mo had won two of the three rounds, but he didn’t get the nod in that fight, either.

It’s hard to call someone who has had as much success as Mo a hard-luck fighter, but he’s close.

Davis will almost certainly be an underdog against McGeary. Despite his time in the UFC, Davis hasn’t proved that he can definitively beat the best light heavyweights in the world, and McGeary is one of the elite.

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Follow Brian Mazique on Twitter.

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UFC 197 made it official: Jon Jones is back. 

The former light heavyweight champion successfully returned after more than a year away from the Octagon with a unanimous-decision win over Ovince Saint Preux in Saturday’s main event in Las Vegas. 

Kevin Iole of Yahoo Sports tweeted out the judges’ scores:

The first round was short on action. Bones’ highly anticipated return saw the fighters trying to gauge distance and get a feel for each other instead of seeking to cause damage. 

Scott Harris of Bleacher Report noted Jones’ calculated start:

The second frame saw Jones mount more offense as he put OSP against the fence and utilized some elbows that looked like vintage Jones.

As the fight progressed, the same familiar story began to unfold. Saint Preux had some moments, but Jones’ ability to pick apart his opponent with an array of body attacks and oblique kicks wore him down and constantly threw him off rhythm.

The fourth round saw Jones go back to another familiar part of his game as he landed a takedown. Then rust reared its ugly head as Saint Preux popped back up, via the UFC:

Jones secured another takedown later in the round and didn’t give that one up. He battered OSP with elbows from the top position to end the round.

The former champion was unable to parlay that momentum into a finish, but he did cruise to a unanimous-decision victory despite some signs of ring rust against an inferior opponent. 

The matchup wasn’t just about Jones beating Saint Preux. This was designed to be a tuneup fight. OSP ranked sixth in the light heavyweight division heading into the bout, so he shouldn’t have been much of a threat for a man who never lost his belt in the Octagon. 

Saturday’s fight was about Jones putting some of the demons that forced him to lose the belt behind him. The UFC stripped him of the title in April 2015 for disciplinary reasons after a hit-and-run incident. 

Now, the new interim titleholder feels he’s ready to get back to the top. 

“Right now—I could be at the beginning of the book still,” he said, per Matt Parrino of UFC.com. “So the little hiccups, they don’t define me. I just know I have a lot of work to do to make sure the ending [of the book] is something powerful. That it’s something people can look up to and draw strength from in the future.”

Jones’ potential road to redemption started with a win over Saint Preux, but he’s not back to where he once was. That would mean unifying his interim belt with the one Daniel Cormier owns. 

Cormier lost to Jones in the final fight before Bones’ legal troubles forced him into a hiatus, but Cormier since captured the 205-pound crown with a win over Anthony “Rumble” Johnson. 

According to commentator Mike Goldberg (via Bloody Elbow), the win for Jones likely means a rematch between the two bitter rivals will be the main event at UFC 200:

That news couldn’t have come at a better time for the UFC. The feud between Jones and Cormier is one of the most bitter in the sport. The title fight should have plenty of heat and won’t be hard to promote. 

The original main event was supposed to be a rematch between Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz, but a disagreement over McGregor’s promotional responsibilities caused UFC President Dana White to pull him from the card, per Martin Rogers of USA Today.

In other words, the UFC is depending on Jones to bring in comparable numbers to the man who became the promotion’s biggest star during his absence from the organization.

It looks like Jones’ comeback couldn’t have come at a better time.

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