While there has been a lot of talk about the number of talented fighters in the worldwide middleweight ranks being a little depleted, Strikeforce has managed to create a reasonably competitive division featuring fighters such as Robbie Lawler, Scott Smith, Cung Le, Matt Lindland, Jason “Mayhem” Miller, Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza, Jake Shields, Melvin Manhoef, Luke Rockhold, and the newly signed Dan Henderson. Shields eventually won a vacant Strikeforce Middleweight title with a win over Jason “Mayhem” Miller in November after Cung Le vacated the title due to his inability to defend the title from his obligations in his acting career. The stage is now set for the division to begin its normal process of providing the champion with challengers and fans with attractive match-ups. Strikeforce: Evolution will be the first event since the crowning of an active middleweight champion in which two exceptional match-ups on the card could have a major effect in how the top of the division plays out.
The first middleweight bout of the evening will feature the 2000 Sydney Olympic Silver Medalist Greco-Roman wrestler and UFC veteran Matt “The Law” Lindland (21-6) battling the 2004, 2005 Open-weight World Jiu-Jitsu champion and 2005 ADCC 77-87kg champion Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza (10-2). Just glancing at the massive list of credentials that both men have amassed over the years should bring a little bit of intrigue to any fan of mixed martial arts in regards to this fight, but hardcore fans will likely see the most appeal in this match-up as both men are more adept on the ground than in the striking department.
This will be Lindland’s first fight back after suffering a devastating knockout loss to Vitor Belfort at Affliction: Day of Reckoning while Souza enters the contest following a no-contest decision against Jason “Mayhem” Miller at DREAM 9 for the DREAM Middleweight title. He previously lost to Gegard Mousasi at DREAM 6 in the DREAM Middleweight Grand Prix final via an upkick.
Lindland and Souza have met before, although it was within the confines of the 2003 ADCC grappling tournament in which Souza came out the victor. Lindland went on to lose to Fabricio Werdum, but he did manage to defeat Yushin Okami in the tournament. Souza was able to do a nice job in controlling Lindland, and this might be a battle in which the same type of gameplan could be implemented by Souza. Age is obviously a factor as well as Lindland is now 39 years of age and coming off a devastating and scary knockout loss against VItor Belfort.
Video of Matt Lindland vs. Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza at ADCC 2003 after the jump…
Ultimately, this fight will pit the Greco-Roman wrestling abilities of the aging Matt Lindland against the much younger, dynamic Brazilian jiu-jitsu techniques of Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza. While most fans would point to the younger fighter as the eventual winner of this fight purely based on age, Lindland’s experience in the wrestling department has given him some impressive success over the years. The only major problem with that is that Souza should have the skills to counter those wrestling techniques on the floor, and he just so happens to be one of the best BJJ practitioners in the world to convert to mixed martial arts.
Some fans will tell you that this fight could turn into a “wrestleboxing” match, and there is a possibility of Lindland trying to move into the clinch and dirty box while Souza will maintain distance and strike. But I’m pretty confident that Souza’s strategy will rely heavily on controlling Lindland on his back. If he can take Lindland down to the mat, he should be able to control enough of the rounds to pull off the victory. If Lindland can maintain his stance and clinch with Souza, he’ll be able to pepper him with strikes in the fence and take the victory in three rounds.
Of course, Souza’s training at Black House and with the Wand Fight Team could be giving him ideas about striking with a very average puncher in Lindland. To be perfectly honest, it’s hard to know what to expect from Souza in this one. We know what Lindland brings to the table every time, but Souza could bring a better striking game. Regardless, I expect Souza to ride out a decision victory via a controlling BJJ game on the ground.