Last Saturday, Jacare Souza faced Jack Hermansson in a Middleweight clash in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Along with that matchup was 12 other bouts. Here’s a recap of what went down that evening at the BB&T Center last week.
Preliminary Card
Bout 1: Court McGee (19-7) vs. Dhiego Lima (13-7) (Welterweight)
Kicking off the evening was Court McGee versus Dhiego Lima. In the first round, Lima was circling the outside, trading blows with McGee. McGee would be the one advancing but would get hit when he would come too close. A takedown attempt was blocked by Lima with under two minutes left. Another takedown attempt by McGee was reversed by Lima. McGee did a judo throw, but Lima got back up, putting them both back against the cage. Lima continued out-striking in the second round, landing a good overhand right at one point. Lima was dominant for most of the final round as well. There was a moment with less than ten seconds left, where Lima actually got dropped by a shot but might have been saved by the bell. The judges gave Lima a split decision victory (30-27 Lima, 29-28 McGee & 29-28 Lima).
My Scorecard:
| Fighters | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Total |
| Lima | 10 | 10 | 10 | 30 |
| McGee | 9 | 9 | 9 | 27 |
Bout 2: Angela Hill (8-6) vs. Jodie Esquibel (6-4) (Strawweight)
Angela Hill took a short notice fight against Jodie Esquibel in the second bout. Hill had a big height and reach advantage over Esquibel. The first round had Hill showcasing her striking throughout. Hill had a good trip after catching Esquibel’s leg after a kick. Hills successful kickboxing continued in the second round. She finished strong at the end of the round. Early in the final round, Esquibel dropped Hill with a right. The fight had some exciting closing minutes, including a knee to the head that landed perfectly by Hill. The judges gave Hill a Unanimous decision victory (29-28, 30-27 & 30-27).
My Scorecard:
| Fighters | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Total |
| Esquibel | 9 | 9 | 9 | 27 |
| Hill | 10 | 10 | 10 | 30 |
Bout 3: Jim Miller (29-13) vs. Jason Gonzalez (11-4) (Lightweight)
Jim Miller had his children at octagon-side for this bout. Miller landed a good left jab early on. Miller landed a takedown after a minute of competition. Miller put in a rear naked choke shortly after, which made Gonzalez tap out.
My Scorecard:
| Fighter | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Total |
| Gonzalez | ||||
| Miller |
Bout 4: Gilbert Burns (14-3) vs. Mike Davis (7-1) (Lightweight)
The preliminary section of the show started with Gilbert Burns and Mike Davis in a Lightweight matchup. Burns was utilizing his strong kicks in the first round. Davis did a good job blocking a takedown attempt. Upon the second attempt, Burns landed a takedown. Davis landed a good strike after getting back up that made Burns back up. Burns landed a second takedown in the final minute. Very early in the second round, Burns landed yet another takedown. He did lots of strikes and elbows while in top mount. Among some of the many strikes that Burns landed on the ground was palm strikes. With under a minute left in the second round, Burns locked in a rear naked choke that ended the contest. He was trying for the move for a while and was able to do so for good after some grinding.
My Scorecard:
| Fighter | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Total |
| Davis | 9 | |||
| Burns | 10 |
Bout 5: Carla Esparza (13-6) vs. Vima Jandiroba (14-0) (Strawweight)
In the next bout, Carla Esparza faced UFC newcomer Vina Jandiroba. Esparza landed a takedown very early in the first round. They stood up a minute and some change later, but Esparza landed another successful takedown shortly after. They had a good battle during this exchange. Jandiroba landed a takedown in round two. Esparza did a good job at escaping the bottom position and moving back to stand-up. Esparza landed a takedown but found herself in a guillotine. Jandiroba let the move go eventually. Esparza got another takedown at the start of the third round. In the second half of the final round, Esparza connected with a kick to the head after a failed takedown attempt. The fight went all 15 minutes. This contest was a great grappling battle where both fighters had their moments. The judges gave Carla Esparza the Unanimous victory (30-27, 39-28 & 29-28).
My Scorecard:
| Fighter | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Total |
| Esparza | 10 | 9 | 10 | 29 |
| Jandiroba | 9 | 10 | 9 | 28 |
Bout 6: Andrei Arlovski (#15) (27-18) vs. Augusto Sakai (12-1-1) (Heavyweight)
In a Heavyweight clash, Andrei Arlovski fought Augusto Sakai. Arlovski got a decent reaction from the crowd when he was introduced by Bruce Buffer. The first round had both guys fight very conservatively in stand-up only. The second round was very much the same. There was a pause in the final minute of the second round as Sakai took a groin kick. The fight went the full distance and never made it’s way to the ground. The judges gave Sakai the win via Split Decision (29-28 Sakai, 29-28 Arlovski & 29-28 Sakai).
My Scorecard:
| Fighter | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Total |
| Arlovski | 9 | 10 | 10 | 29 |
| Sakai | 10 | 9 | 9 | 28 |
Bout 7: Ben Saunders (22-11-2) vs. Takashi Sato (14-2) (Welterweight)
Ben Saunders challenged former Pancrase fighter Takashi Sato in the next bout. Sato found himself backtracking after he was hit with a right hook in the first. It was clear that both fighters were interested in keeping this fight in stand-up. After a minute of the second round, Sato dropped Saunders with a left jab. He landed elbows on the ground that made the referee stop the bout. Saunders looked ugly with a cut on his head afterwards.
My Scorecard:
| Fighter | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Total |
| Saunders | 10 | |||
| Sato | 9 |
Main Card
Bout 8: Roosevelt Roberts (7-0) vs. Thomas Gifford (17-7) (Lightweight)
The main card kicked off with Roosevelt Roberts facing Thomas Gifford. After a few minutes of stand-up, Roberts scored a takedown. Gifford tried a guillotine from the bottom position. When in top position, Roberts landed a few elbows. Roberts put together a good combo of punches at the start of round two. While Gifford was up against the cage he put in a guillotine but Roberts escaped. The two fighters found themselves in an interesting north-south position whilst being up against the cage. Roberts landed a good combo in the third and then went into a clinch, which ended benefitting Gifford as he got a takedown from it. Gifford was in a top position for a while, but they did eventually get back to stand-up. Roberts got a takedown and stayed in a top position for the rest of the final round. All judges gave Roosevelt Roberts the win (30-27, 30-27 & 30-27).
My Scorecard:
| Fighter | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Total |
| Roberts | 10 | 10 | 10 | 30 |
| Gifford | 9 | 9 | 9 | 27 |
Bout 9: John Lineker (#8) (31-8) vs. Cory Sandhagen (10-1) (Bantamweight)
#8 ranked Bantamweight John Lineker fought Cory Sandhagen in the next bout. Sandhagen had a clear size advantage over Lineker. Lineker was landing very powerful punches in the first round. Both guys were doing some good trading, staying completely stand-up in the first round. Sandhagen landed a takedown halfway through the second but couldn’t get any work done on the ground. The second round included more close stand-up. It felt like in the final round these guys heated up even more than before. After Lineker hit Sandhagen with a great combo, Sandhagen went for a desperation takedown. Lineker put in a guillotine and held onto it until the round ended. This was a great performance from both fighters, with Sandhagen getting the split decision win (29-28 Sandhagen, 29-28 Lineker & 29-28 Sandhagen). The crowd booed after hearing this.
My Scorecard:
| Fighter | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Total |
| Lineker | 10 | 9 | 10 | 29 |
| Sandhagen | 9 | 10 | 9 | 28 |
Bout 10: Glover Teixeira (28-7) vs. Ion Cutelaba (14-3) (Light Heavyweight)
The next main card contest was Glover Teixeira versus Ion Cutelaba. Cutelaba got in Teixeira’s face during the introductions. Cutelaba landed a good head kick early on. Even though Cutelaba did most of the work in the first round, he was given a cut beside his right eye. Cutelaba did a spinning back fist which dropped Teixeira. While he was hit with more strikes, Teixeira recovered and then tried for a standing guillotine. There were a couple of times in the fight where Cutelaba almost connected with an illegal kick. Teixeira’s strikes started to heat up more in the second round. He failed to land takedowns during the round but got Cutelaba down by shoving him. Teixeira put in a rear naked choke on the ground after a great sequence on the ground.
My Scorecard:
| Fighter | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Total |
| Teixeira | 9 | |||
| Cutelaba | 10 |
Bout 11: Mike Perry (12-4) vs. Alex Oliveira (20-6-1) (Welterweight)
The next bout was Mike Perry versus Alex Oliveira. Both fighters showed off their dance moves during the walkouts. At the start of the first round, Oliveira was trying many types of kicks. He tried his spinning back kick many times. Oliveira landed some heavy fists and then went into a clinch against the cage. Perry landed a good combo in the final seconds of the first round which had Oliveira shelling up. Oliveira found himself on the ground after a minute of the second round, whether that was due to a strike or a shove isn’t clear. Perry slammed Oliveira, but he got up right after. Perry landed some good strikes on the ground as the second round had a minute left. Oliveira dislocated a toe at the end of the second round but got it “popped back in” in-between rounds, per Joe Anik. After a slow first half of the final round, Perry started to tg Oliveira with strikes. Perry started to pepper on right hooks as Oliveira was shelled up against the cage. The fight went the distance, with the judges giving Mike Perry the unanimous decision victory (29-28, 29-28 & 29-28).
My Scorecard:
| Fighter | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Total |
| Perry | 9 | 10 | ||
| Oliveira | 10 | 9 |
Bout 12: Greg Hardy (3-1) vs. Dmitry Smoliakov (9-2) (Heavyweight)
In the co-main event slot, Greg Hardy faced Dmitry Smoliakov, someone who’s been sent into the promotion to obviously take the fall. Hardy dropped Smoliakov with over three minutes left in the first. He landed a few more strikes before the referee stepped in to end the fight.
My Scorecard:
| Fighter | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Total |
| Hardy | ||||
| Smoliakov |
Bout 13: Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza (#4) (26-6) vs. Jack Hermansson (#10) (19-4) (Middleweight)
The main event of the card was Jacare Souza versus Jack Hermansson. Hermansson took the fight on short notice. The first couple of minutes in this fight was a feeling out process. Hermansson landed a combo of strikes that dropped Jacare, and then he tried for a guillotine on the ground. Jacare did a good job at escaping the submission move and then got back to his feet. After a minute if striking in the second round, Hermansson scored a takedown. From top position, Hermansson landed strikes frequently. The crowd started to lose their patience with the groundwork. At the start of round three, Hermansson tried for a takedown but was unsuccessful. Souza started to land more strikes in this round. Souza blocked a couple more takedowns in this round. Souza blocked yet another takedown attempt as round four started. Hermansson strung together some good punch combos at the start of this round. Souza showed some good head movement when he wasn’t getting hit. In the final round, Hermansson was aggressive from the start, landing a takedown after some strikes. Both guys started to connect with strikes in the final minute of the fight. Hermansson landed a takedown as the fight came to a close. The judges unanimously gave Jack Hermansson a victory (49-46, 48-47 & 48-47).
My Scorecard:
| Fighter | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Round 4 | Round 5 | Total |
| Souza | 9 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 46 |
| Hermansson | 10 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 49 |
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