Ronaldo Souza puts on grappling clinic, submits Gegard Mousasi in 3rd round
Ronaldo Souza gave Connecticut fans a clinic Friday night. Gegard Mousasi played the role of grappling dummy.
"Jacare" reminded everyone of just how dangerous he is in the middleweight division with a third-round submission (guillotine choke) of Mousasi in the main event of UFC Fight Night on FOX Sports 1. Souza dominated from the opening bell and even outstruck Mousasi on the feet, where Mousasi supposedly had the advantage.
Souza (21-3, 1 NC) finished both the first and second rounds in dominant position. He worked for submissions, nearly cinching in a kimura on two separate occasions. Standing up, Souza landed big punches and evaded Mousasi's technical kickboxing style.
In the third round, Souza ended up on top again, found Mousasi's neck and the rest was academic. The clinic was over and "Jacare" etched his name as the potential No. 1 contender for the middleweight title. Chris Weidman defends the belt against Vitor Belfort in December and Souza very well could be waiting in the wings.
"If anyone doubts they're completely wrong," Souza said. "I'm next for the title."
Souza, 34, has won seven fights in a row between the UFC and Strikeforce. He had fallen to Mousasi previously in DREAM back in 2008 via upkick. The results were far different this time around.
Mousasi (35-5-2) was coming off a dominant first-round submission win over Mark Munoz in May and had won seven of his last nine bouts with a loss to Lyoto Machida and a draw mixed in. The 29-year-old came in ranked No. 7 among middleweight contenders. He'll remain in the top 10 despite the loss.
Souza, on the other hand, should could very well move up from his No. 4 spot. Only Belfort, Machida and Anderson Silva are above him. That might not be the case any longer.
