A lot has happened in the six years since Gegard Mousasi and Ronaldo ‘Jacare’ Souza’s first meeting. Both men have gone up to light heavyweight, then come down again. Anderson Silva’s vice grip on the UFC middleweight division has ended, and the field has opened up. On Friday they meet for a second time in one of the most attractive UFC cards in a while, and it’s well worth getting excited for. Today we’ll look at some of the fights and fighters whom you should be watching out for on UFC Fight Night: Jacare vs Mousasi II.
Main Event In 2008, the Dream Fighting Championship (spiritual successor to PRIDE) put on two of the best grand prix tournaments in the history of mixed martial arts. In the lightweight grand prix, Shinya Aoki, Eddie Alvarez and Joachim Hansen turned heads. In the middleweight grand prix, it was all about two men—Gegard Mousasi and Ronaldo ‘Jacare’ Souza. When Mousasi and Jacare met in the final, it was thought to be grappler versus striker. In truth, it was a specialist—in Jacare—against a generalist.
Mousasi was taken down, but maintained his half guard well and was able to push Jacare out to standing with his upkicks. After being pushed out to his feet, Jacare—anxious to push his advantage on the ground—dived back into Mousasi’s guard with a punch, but ate an upkick en route and fell victim to one of the most memorable knockouts in MMA history. In the time since, Mousasi has boned up on his wrestling, and Jacare has shown a great flair for striking. Where formerly, Jacare would run in with a flying knee to begin a bout, then swing wild and look for a takedown, he now seems to be as thoughtful and dangerous on the feet as he is on the ground.
How to Watch the Fights: UFC Fight Night 50
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