UFC 198 Results: Jacare Souza Dominates Vitor Belfort, Calls for Title Shot

Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza dominated Vitor Belfort in the UFC 198 co-main event on Saturday and called for a title shot following the one-sided TKO win.

Ranked no. 2 in the 185-pound division, Souza dictated every aspect of the fight against the third-ranked former light heavyweight champion.

Souza took the fight to Belfort in front of a sold out crowd at Arena da Baixada in Curitiba, Brazil.  He pressed forward with strikes and used them to set up takedown attempts.  Befort fended off the first time Souza tried to get him to the ground, but couldn’t defend the second attempt.

Souza changed levels after throwing a right hand and put Befort on his back.  He rained down right hands and elbows, opening up a cut on Belfort’s face.  A doctor was called in to check the laceration and allowed the fight to continue.  Once the fight was restarted, with Souza in the half guard position, Souza went back to landing shots on the grounded Belfort.

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Souza transitioned and looked to set up an arm bar.  Belfort used the opportunity to scramble back to his feet, but couldn’t escape the grasps of Souza.  Belfort decided to pull guard.  He landed an up kick, but things quickly turned south for “The Phenom.”  Souza advanced to the mount position and hammered away with punches until the referee had seen enough and stopped the fight.

“I’m very happy,” said Souza following the one-sided victory.  “I have to say, anytime they give me and big challenge, I come in and do my best.”

Middleweight champion Luke Rockhold puts his title on the line for the first time in a rematch against former titleholder Chris Weidman at UFC 199 on June 4, and Souza wants a shot at the winner.

“First of all, I deserve a title shot.  I think that I’ve earned it, and I deserve that fight,” he said.

Rockhold holds a decision win over Souza, but “Jacare” says things will be different if the two end up fighting again.

“I’m going to finish Luke Rockhold,” said Souza.  “In that fight, there was one of the judges that it was the first fight that he ever judged.  He gave him five rounds, and that’s absurd.”

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