“Jacare” Souza made sure he remained in the 185, title shot mix tonight at UFC 230, by stopping former champ Chris Weidman.
Souza came out pressuring and firing the odd big right, but Weidman proceeded to stun him with a hard straight, right of his own. Weidman started to press forward behind a stiff jab, and as the opening round came to an end, “Jacare” was bleeding from the nose.
Souza cranked up the pressure in round two, and the two exchanged shots from the pocket on more than one occasion. Souza continued to target Weidman’s liver with punches while the latter continued to fight behind a hard jab. Shortly before the round ended, Weidman briefly took Souza to the mat, but the grappling wizard quickly rolled out and back to his feet.
In round three, Souza came out winging big punches, but Weidman weathered the storm and returned fire. At one point, Weidman appeared to stun Souza with a cracking elbow, but moments later, the Brazilian star sent the former middleweight champ to the deck with a right to the temple. Souza wanted the fight stopped, but when the ref didn’t intervene, “Jacare” landed several more punches to bring the fight to an end.
Here are the results so far for UFC 230.
Ronaldo Souza def. Chris Weidman via TKO (punches) R3, 2:46
Jared Cannonier def. David Branch via TKO (punches) R2, 0:29
Karl Roberson def. Jack Marshman via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-27)
Israel Adesanya def. Derek Brunson via TKO (punches) R1, 4:51
Jordan Rinaldi def. Jason Knight via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-25, 30-26)
Sijara Eubanks def. Roxanne Modafferi via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Sheymon Moraes def. Julio Arce via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 30-26)
Lyman Good def. Ben Saunders via KO (punches) R1, 1:32
Matt Frevola vs. Lando Vannata declared a majority draw (29-28, 28-28, 28-28)
Shane Burgos def. Kurt Holobaugh via submission (armbar) R1, 2:11
Marcos Rogerio de Lima def. Adam Wieczorek via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)