Roundtables
ROUNDTABLE: How does Jacare Souza match up with Chris Weidman or Vitor Belfort into potential UFC Title bout in 2015?
Sep 8, 2014 - 12:45:44 PM ROUNDTABLE: How does Jacare Souza match up with Chris Weidman or Vitor Belfort into potential UFC Title bout in 2015?

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Given his run in the UFC thus far, how do you see Jacare Souza matching up with either Chris Weidman or Vitor Belfort in a potential 2015 title fight? Will he capture the title next year?


RICH HANSEN, MMATORCH COLUMNIST

Well, it's kinda hard to pick against an undefeated modern-day smashing machine who holds consecutive (T)KO victories over the greatest of all-time, no? I'm certainly not going to be the guy who picks against Weidman. When it comes to me picking title fights, I'm pretty conservative, and I'll put my money on the favorite almost every time.

That said, Jacare Souza beats Weidman 49.9999% of the time, and I wouldn't be at all surprised if he beats Weidman for the title sometime in mid-2015. While it seems likely that Weidman is a stylistic nightmare for Jacare, can you not also say the same about Jacare for Weidman? Weidman's never faced a grappler like Jacare (no one has, really), and Jacare might be the most athletically gifted (still in their prime) fighter in the middleweight division. Jacare brings one hell of a package to the table, and it's one Chris Weidman has never seen before.

Put a gun and make me pick now, I take Weidman solely because judges tend to give tied rounds to the champion. But there's no fight at 185 pounds I want to see more than Weidman vs. Jacare Souza.


FRANK HYDEN, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR

I think he matches up very well with either fighter. I think Jacare beats Belfort most every time, but that Weidman would be a tougher fight. I don't have much faith that Belfort will be the same after TRT as he was on it, so I don't think he'll be as formidable a challenger as Jacare will be to Weidman. I think Jacare would beat Weidman in a very close fight. I could easily see an explosive finish, but that's more because of the skill of both fighters involved.


KALE HAVERVOLD, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR

I've been high on Jacare for a while now and I think he is the right blend to become champion. I think his high level jiu jitsu adds a fold to his game that not a lot of middlweights have. Plus he has been striking much better in his last several fights, which also makes him dangerous on the feet.


CASH NORMAN, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR

Gegard Mousasi is a well rounded mixed martial artist, and going into the matchup with Jacare Souza, I would have given the striking advantage to Mousasi given his former boxing and kickboxing experience. Although Mousasi has a black belt in judo, he was facing an elite level grappler in Jacare Souza. With all that being said, I do not see any possible scenario in which Jacare would be able to take Chris Weidman down nor keep him down. If grappling is going to be Souza's primary weapon, I foresee this as being a problem. Often Souza backs his opponent against the fence and utlizes body locks and trips to ground his opponent. I have a hard time believing this strategy will work well against Weidman. I also cannot picture a scenario in which Jacare could shoot in for a single leg and get Weidman down either.

Has Souza greatly improved in his striking? Yes. However, he's still not as polished, nor as accurate in his strikes, as Weidman. When they meet, I think this will be a huge problem. Souza had success in his last match because his opponent was on the defensive and moving backwards, whereas Weidman is an aggressive push forward fighter. Is it possible Jacare could stun Weidman and then submit him? Yes, it's possible. Do I think it's likely Jacare Souza will be the UFC Middleweight Champion in 2015? No.


DAN MOORE, MMATORCH UK COLUMNIST

Ronaldo Souza has proven himself to be very capable, and he's a legit challenger for whomever wins the title fight in December. If he is to face Chris Weidman next, his threat to the champion differs from anything we have seen so far. Weidman has faced challengers in Anderson Silva and Lyoto Machida who are predominantly strikers, and the same applies to Vitor Belfort. Don't get me wrong, all three are very competent grapplers, but in my opinion none of them comes close to Jacare in terms of skill on the mat.

I would favour Chris Weidman to win, but Jacare is capable of ending a fight from any position, in every area of the Octagon. If he were to fight Vitor Belfort next, I'd be inclined to choose the former, and I think it would be relatively straight forward too. Whatever happens, Jacare should wait for his title shot and not take on another fight. Not because I fear he could lose his momentum in doing so, but because he's already earned the right, and shouldn't have to prove himself all over again.