The first time Ronaldo Souza and Derek Brunson fought was in 2012 in Strikeforce, where “Jacare” won via first-round knockout. Almost six years later, the Brazilian put on a repeat performance in their rematch by once again ending the fight in the first stanza.
What was the high point of the fight?
It was interesting to see how the much-improved Brunson would do against Jacare, who was entering the fight coming off a second-round TKO loss to Robert Whittaker last April. During the opening moments, Brunson managed to keep the fight standing and avoid getting into a grappling match with one of MMA’s best submission artists.
Jacare, however, was perfectly fine with the striking exchange, and was finding a home for his counter right hands. But unlike the first fight where he sealed the victory with a counter straight right, he finished off Brunson tonight with a right head kick followed by a barrage of punches.
Where do these two go from here?
The middleweight division is another weight class that is in disarray as of the moment, given the indefinite absence of champion Robert Whittaker. This has led to the making of the Yoel Romero vs. Luke Rockhold interim title fight at UFC 221, as the rest of the top-tier contenders wait and see how things unfold.
Brunson just snapped a two-fight win streak with the loss, but I believe he still deserves to fight a top-ten opponent, next. The number-three ranked Jacare, meanwhile, has definitely gotten himself back in the conversation to be the next title contender, but I say match him up against someone like Chris Weidman next, with the winner facing whoever ends up with the undisputed 185-pound title.
Watch it now, later or never?
This fight was pretty much a déjà vu of their first fight in Strikeforce, and if you are a Jacare Souza fan, this is something you might want to check out sooner than later.