Why Jacare Matters
By Josh Stein on Dec 18, 2009
Of the top ten middleweights in MMA, six fight in the UFC (four of the top five are UFC fighters). But, then again, Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza (10-2-0-1 MMA) isn’t listed among those ten.
There’s certainly a reason why. Jacare hasn’t won a fight in over a year (his two recent MMA bouts have been a loss to newly crowned Strikeforce lightheavyweight champion Gegard Mousasi and a No Contest loss against Jason “MayheM” Miller). However, going into his fight with former UFC top-contender and middleweight legend Matt Lindland (21-6 MMA, 9-3 UFC) its worth remembering that should Jacare stay in the world of MMA, he will be a top ten fighter, and a threat to anyone who steps in the cage against him.
At the moment, there are two world class Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu fighters in the top ten at middleweight. Strikeforce middleweight champion Jake Shields (24-4-1 MMA, #6 IWMMAR) and Demian Maia (11-1 MMA, #5 IWMMAR), both of whom are phenomenal competitors in both gi and no-gi grappling. But, to put it simply, neither of them have the no-prowess that Jacare brings to the table, and neither brings the ability to land the takedown the way Jacare does.
Jacare armbars Zelg Galesic.
What’s made Jacare devastating and unique in jiu-jitsu and submission grappling is his ability to land a takedown and then control the top position even against fighters with world class guard games. His recent ADCC superfight with Robert Drysdale was something to talk about, not because it was a dominant showing (it wasn’t) but because those two points off the takedown made the difference in the match. For Jacare, judo wins fights.
We probably won’t see Jacare work his world class judo-style clinch with complete dominance on Saturday. He’s taking on a Greco-Roman Olympic silver medalist in Lindland, but Jacare has an absolutely explosive game that moves from the clinch to the top position to the submission very quickly, and it’s a style of attack that translates very well to MMA.
There’s really only been one other fighter who brings that kind of attack potential to the ring, and that’s two-time BJJ world champion Andre Galvao, but Galvao hasn’t had the level of activity in terms of MMA competition that Jacare has. As he comes to the states with Strikeforce, expect that high level of jiu-jitsu and matchups with top middleweights. While it’ll be hard for Jacare to get attention, given that very few top ten middleweights exist outside of the UFC, his game will make for a phenomenal challenge for experienced fighters like Dan Henderson (25-7 MMA, 5-2 UFC, #3 IWMMAR), who (despite a ton of fight experience) have never fought a guy with that level of grappling.
Filed Under: MMA
Why do you say Maia doesn’t have the level of grappling that Jacare does? I’m not arguing with you, I just want to know. We’ve seen Maia get a few sub of the nights and he’s amazing on the ground. Please advise.
2nd comment is I wonder why Lindland doesn’t have a black belt in BJJ. The guy’s been in MMA for what 12 years or so. Guess that question should be applied to a lot of wrestlers out there with 10+ years experience…. never mind.
Next comment on Shields. Dominant wrestler but I’ve never seen him do any good subs/BJJ on a half decent opponent. Will be interesting to see if his sub defense coupled with his dominant top control can hang with Jacare. Also Jacare should have a 10 pound or more weight advantage.
Also Shields is a pxssy. He didn’t want Jacare, he wanted Cung. Cung has never fought anybody ever. Frank was good 10 years ago and did nothing since. Shield would pound Cung out in 30 seconds. Cung’s flashy kicks would be just that, flash.
BTW, smart money on Smith tonight. Smith’s a journeyman but at least he’s fought decent guys. Smith by g’n'p, RD1.
In terms of championships, Jacare’s a long way ahead. In terms of skill, Maia has an absolutely amazing game, but Jacare’s no gi game, in the clinch and from the top, is totally insane.
Lindland doesn’t have a BJJ blackbelt because he’s not a BJJ blackbelt in terms of technical ability.
I like Matt, he’s a great guy, but he’s not up to that level on the ground.
There are a lot of MMA guys who aren’t really BJJ blackbelts who have been given that rank for MMA, but Lindland isn’t one of those guys and doesn’t want to be one of those guys.
Nice job Josh. Jacare is going to be a force! I think the UFC shied away from him because of Maia. After the loss to Marquardt and wanting more stand up matches I do not think they wanted to get another submission guy. After last nights fight I bet they may be a little disappointed.
Bill
Bill, I think that part of what’s amazing about Jacare is that (in addition to learning the standup) his style of jiu-jitsu is so physical. We saw that against Lindland. He attacks submissions and sweeps before he fully establishes positions, and he knows how to tweak the moves so that they work from odd angles.
That’s part of what makes him devastating in no-gi.
Frankly, I think he’d beat Demian Maia in MMA standing up, but the fact that he can move the way that he does and his takedowns are so good that he’s much more of a threat.