LEDYARD, Conn. — Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza remained perfect in his UFC run and may soon find himself competing for the company’s middleweight title.
Souza (21-3), the Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialist was absolutely dominant in his “UFC Fight Night: Jacare vs. Mousasi” headliner with Gegard Mouasi (35-5-2), looking crisp on the feet and brilliant on the floor en route to scoring a third-round submission win on Friday night.
Fellow top contender Mousasi showed incredible defence on the mat, turning aside submission attempt after submission attempt from the grappling ace. But Souza simply wouldn’t be denied, repeatedly taking the fight to the floor and looking for options.
The moment he needed came late in the third round.
In the final minute of the frame, Mouasi worked to a seated position in hopes of getting back to his feet. Souza seized the moment, latching on to a guillotine choke and sitting back to squeeze the hold, earning the tap from his opponent with 30 seconds left in the third round.
Afterward, Souza staked his claim to the No. 1 contender spot in the UFC’s 185-pound division.
“If anyone doubts that, they’re completely wrong,” Souza said. “Lyoto (Machida) fought this guy for five rounds. I finished him before the fight ended, so if anyone doubts that, they’re completely wrong. I’m next for the title.”
In the night’s co-feature, perennial underdog Ben Rothwell (34-9) scored one of the biggest victories of his career, earning a first-round TKO win over Alistair Overeem (37-14).
Rothwell was unintimidated by former Strikeforce, DREAM and K-1 champion Overeem, happily standing at kickboxing range and looking to trade. The risky strategy paid dividends, as both men simultaneously threw punches, but Rothwell scored with a right hand to the temple.
Overeem crashed to the canvas, and Rothwell followed with additional punches to force a stop to the bout at the 2:19 mark of the opening round.
“I know the odds were against me, and everyone went against me because people don’t really know what I’m about,” Rothwell said. “That’s my fault. My last three wins should prove that I’m legit.”
In another heavyweight matchup, Matt Mitrione (8-3) needed just 41 seconds to dispatch of the man that called him out, Derrick Lewis (11-3).
Lewis, who asked for the Mitrione matchup following back-to-back TKO wins to start his career, looked to land his signature power blows, but it was his opponent who struck first. As they clashed in the centre, a short right hand scored flush for Mitrione, and Lewis crumpled to the floor. Mitrione swarmed with additional strikes, ending the fight in the opening minute.
Afterward, Mitrione admitted his opponent’s actions served as motivation.
“He called me out, so that really upset me,” Mitrione said. “That’s not really my flavour. I expected to finish him that quickly.”
In the night’s first main-card matchup, Joe Lauzon (24-9) and Michael Chiesa (11-2) seemed destined to turn in an instant classic, but a nasty gash over Chiesa’s right eye ended the fight prematurely in the second frame.
The fiery lightweights both pushed forward from the start, engaging in entertaining exchanges both on the feet and the floor. Lauzon seemed to be getting the better of the early action, but Chiesa also appeared primed to push the action well into the later stages of the fight.
He wouldn’t get the chance.
A Lauzon knee opened a deep cut over Chiesa’s right eye, and doctors waved off the fight at the 2:14 mark of the second round.
“I think he edged me out in the first round, and he finished pretty strong,” Lauzon admitted. “I came out strong in the second and cut him above his eye and that was it.”
