Jacare defeats Kennedy to win vacant Strikeforce title
Aside from the Cavalcante-Lawal bout, another must-see last Saturday evening on Strikeforce: Houston was the fight between the two middleweights Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza and Tim Kennedy. It was an important match since the middleweight title was at stake. Following the departure of former middleweight champ Jake Shields to fight for the UFC, the title had been vacated for months.
Now Souza, proudly wears that belt as he successfully defeated Kennedy by way of a unanimous decision. Two judges had it 48-47, while the third scored it 49-46, all for the Brazilian. For Kennedy, however, it was a disappointing defeat.
“I don’t know what happened,” he said.
“The best grappler in the world couldn’t take me down. My hat is totally off to Jacare. It was an absolutely frustrating fight,” he continued.
On the entire 25 minutes of the fight, the two fighters largely relied on striking exchanges with a few takedowns. This was something of a surprise, as Jacare is known as one of the best Brazilian jiu-jitsu grapplers in the world, famed for his powerful grip (his nickname, Jacare refers to a kind of alligator.)
The first round seemed to have favoured Jacare, though his opponent was obviously the crowd-favourite. The Brazilian Jacare started with a left-right combination that temporarily stunned his opponent. The American fired back with a head-kick, but was easily blocked. The two continued to exchange shots until the end of the round.
The second round started with a punch from Kennedy followed by more combinations to regain his pace. Jacare attempted a takedown but was unsuccessful. Kennedy answered with a knee to Jacare’s body and a couple more combinations. In the end, Kennedy stole the round from Jacare.
Likewise, Kennedy became the aggressor on the third, delivering more strikes, punches and kicks, but Jacare was also able to counter with a powerful right hand, bruising Kennedy’s eye.
Though the fourth round still favoured Kennedy at the start, it also became the turning point for Jacare after receiving an illegal kick to the groin. The fight was then momentarily stopped for Jacare to recover.
On the fifth and final round, Kennedy continued what he had started. He easily blocked Jacare’s shots, but not until the final moments of the round. Another takedown attempt gave Jacare the opportunity to get behind his opponent. Jacare hammer fisted Kennedy’s head with another heavy right-left combination, giving him the chance to take the final round away from Kennedy.
While most commentators agreed with the decision, Kennedy expressed disappointment in Jacare getting picked as the winner.
“I don’t like judges and this is what happens when I go to them,” said Kennedy pertaining to the decision.
Meanwhile, Jacare now continues to ride on his win streak and holds a record of 13-2. The Brazilian native is known for his impressive grappling and take down skills and most of his wins are via submissions. Though he lost on his MMA debut in 2003, his cage return on 2004 gave him the chance to jumpstart his career. From then, he made an explosive 10-win streak until 2008. He is a grappling specialist, but this time, he proved to the crowd that his stand-up has improved too.
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