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What's the story?
One of the highlights of UFC results this week was when Jacere Souza delivered a devastating reel knockout over Chris Weidman when he defeated the "All American" via 3rd round TKO.
The fight was a back and forth war with both fighters visibly hurt at times till Jacare landed a huge right hand which knocked Weidman out the moment it landed.
In case you didn't know...
Former Middleweight Champion and the no. 3 ranked Middleweight contender, Chris Weidman faced Brazilian Jiu Jitsu ace and no. 5 ranked contender, Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza in the co-main event of UFC 230 at MSG in New York City.
The fight was announced on short notice when Luke Rockhold, who was earlier set to face Weidman was forced to withdraw from the fight due to training injuries. Jacare Souza was earlier set to fight David Branch on the same card but was offered the Weidman fight either which the Brazilian accepted instantly.
The match-up had fight fans around the world buzzing as the dominant wrestler and Gracie Black Belt Chris Weidman aimed to make a dominant comeback against the ever dangerous Jacare Souza in what could be a title eliminator fight.
The heart of the matter
Chris Weidman and Jacare Souza delivered an instant classic and an epic war when they fought at UFC 230. The fight was an action packed contest from the get go with neither fighter holding anything back.
A contest between two of the best grapplers in the game ended up being one of the best stand-up brawls in a long time. Neither of the two attempted a takedown in the first round and both fighters traded shots.
Weidman looked to be the sharper boxer as he landed technical strikes all fight long. Weidman's boxing had never looked better and he controlled range and landed jabs and crosses on Jacare, busting up the Brazilian's nose in the first round itself.
Jacare turned it up in the second round as he closed distance and began to land big body shots and short hooks in the pocket.
Going into the 3rd round it looked like Weidman was getting the better of the exchanges and was probably 2 rounds up on the cards. But it was the grit, toughness and knockout power of Jacare which out-shone a good performance by Weidman. Jacare landed a huge overhand right in counter to a right hook by Weidman and knocked him out standing.
Showing pure class after the shot, Jacare didn't follow through to hit Weidman as he was visibly out and even requested the referee to stop the fight. As Dan Mirgliotta let the fight go, Jacare landed 3-4 more shots on the ground and finally got the TKO stoppage. You can watch the knockout here below.
What's next?
With a win over a fellow top contender, a title shot seems a very real possibility for Jacare Souza now. Israel Adesanya also put forth an inspiring performance tonight with a 1st round knockout of Derek Brunson. A potential title eliminator between these two is also a real possibility.
The Middleweight Champion Robert Whittaker is set to battle Kelvin Gastelum for his second title defence as the two fighters have assumed opposite coaching roles at TUF 28. Jacare has lost to both the champion and the challenger and a rematch for the title also seems an interesting prospect.
