Issue 141

May 2016

Two Brazilian predators meet in a mouth-watering encounter to make their claim as the next middleweight title contender

Vitor Belfort vs. Jacare Souza

Before Luke Rockhold and Chris Weidman lock horns again, two former champions will try to establish their status as the clear number-one contender at 185lb.

Vitor Belfort’s been there before. He came up short in 2015 against Weidman, but he bounced back with a KO of Dan Henderson to get back on the winning track. He immediately called out Rockhold, with his 2013 win over the current champ backing up his claim for another crack of the whip.

Jacare too is seeking a second go against the Californian after losing the Strikeforce title to him in 2011. Despite dropping a decision to Yoel Romero in his last fight, he’s in the mix again following the Cuban’s anti-doping issues. 

On paper, this has the makings of a classic striker vs. grappler match, but Belfort has been a BJJ black belt for more than a decade and Jacare’s boxing is now better than most fighters in the weight class. So, FO asks three MMA insiders to analyze how this one plays out, and to pick who will be bringing the 185lb glory days back to Brazil?   

Picking Jacare Souza

Patrick Cote

Former TUF:Nations coach and UFC welterweight

I hope Jacare is going to be in better shape than his last fight against Yoel Romero because I was very disappointed. I’m a big fan of Jacare. I used to be a big fan of Belfort but I don’t know what happened in the last couple of years. He’s getting a little bit weird. He looks a little bit worse. 

If the fight goes to the ground Jacare is better than Jon Jones, and Jones was able to submit Belfort pretty easily with an Americana. You don’t see that very often in the UFC. It’s kind of weird what happened. He was kind of gassed out, but he got tapped out by an Americana.

Belfort is older, but he’s still very dangerous on the feet. He’s still fast and he probably still has the best hands in the middleweight division. Plus, he’s southpaw and explosive so his hands take on a whole other element. Without the testosterone-replacement therapy you can see the difference with his shape and size but he’s still a very good boxer. 

Jacare has to close the distance, wrestle and put the fight on the ground because Belfort’s attack is going to come fast. He won’t wait.Jacare has the power to hurt Belfort, for sure, but if you’re just talking about technique and speed, the advantage is with Belfort. But I’m still picking Jacare. I’m sure the fight is going to the ground and Jacare is going to submit him pretty quickly. 

Picking Vitor Belfort  

Daniel Gracie  

Head coach at Renzo Gracie Philly 

Jacare, of course, will try and take this fight to the floor. Jacare is a much more dangerous fighter now, but he’s not going to strike with Belfort because Vitor has a lot of power. He’s too fast. Vitor will be trying to get the knockout as fast as possible because the longer the fight goes, the stronger Jacare will get. It will be a traditional grappler vs. striker match.

People don’t know, but Vitor is a top-level black belt. He’s been knocking people out for so long they think he’s just a striker. He’s a Carlson Gracie black belt so we have to respect this. If the fight goes to the ground I don’t know if Jacare will be able to use his jiu-jitsu that much because Vitor is very powerful and he can stand up or even use his jiu-jitsu to defend himself. 

I feel Vitor has so much more power on the feet, but if the fight goes longer it will be better for Jacare. He doesn’t have a problem with cardio but Vitor slows down after the first round and loses his explosiveness. 

I see Vitor winning by knockout or TKO in the first. It will be easier for him to get inside because he’s a southpaw and because of his speed when he cuts angles. Plus, he’s shown us he can land spinning-back kicks and side kicks. You don’t see the same Vitor as before – he’s not just a boxer. Now he’s cutting angles and he still has the same power, which will surprise Jacare. 

Picking Jacare Souza

Brandon Gibson 

Striking coach at New Mexico’s Jackson-Wink MMA Academy

Jacare definitely has an advantage on the ground and in the clinch, but Vitor has the advantage in terms of explosiveness and one-punch knockout power. Jacare also has the advantage the longer the fight goes on. 

Jacare has proven himself in three and five-round fights. Vitor has faded in some of his recent performances after an initial explosion. Against Weidman he seemed to tire pretty quickly. Jacare should be able to control the distance early on and negate Vitor’s power and explosiveness. 

Jacare’s going to have to find his moments where he can initiate the clinch and not let Vitor dictate striking from boxing and kicking range too much. He will have to negate that by finding the clinch or takedown. 

Submissions are his biggest advantage but he’s shown he has TKO power – he knocked out Yushin Okami and Derek Brunson – but he definitely has the biggest advantage on the ground with chokes and lock attacks.

As far as middleweights go, Jacare probably has been the best to apply jiu-jitsu technique and develop his striking game. He’s a very well-versed martial artist with pure threats, which not everyone in the middleweight division has. 

Compared to guys like Demian Maia and Gunnar Nelson, who are outstanding grapplers in other divisions, Jacare really has been able to evolve his game and boxing is his biggest (stiking) threat – more so than Thai or kickboxing styles. I think the threat of the takedown or submission really does open up striking areas for him.

Fight finishers

Short-order stoppages

Belfort (18) and Jacare (15) share 33 first-round finishes from their combined 47 wins.