Ronaldo Souza vs. Tim Kennedy Fight Prediction – Strikeforce Houston

RONALDO SOUZA vs. TIM KENNEDY

Fight Overview:  Two very skilled grapplers go at it, as Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza, one of the sport’s most prolific submission finishers, battles well-rounded Army veteran Tim Kennedy for Strikeforce’s new Middleweight crown.

Jacare’s Strengths:  His cardio is great and his jiu-jitsu is unbelievable.  He has the ability to submit anyone from nearly any position under the right circumstances.

Jacare’s Weaknesses:  His boxing is still fairly rudimentary and he doesn’t have a dominant takedown game to complement his grappling.

Kennedy’s Strengths:  Kennedy is very well-rounded, with solid boxing and wrestling and a fairly devastating submission attack of his own.

Kennedy’s Weaknesses:  He isn’t as good at any one thing as Jacare is at submissions and his strengths play right into Jacare’s, stylistically.

The Verdict:  In a five round fight, Jacare’s submissions are going to be too tough for Kennedy to avoid.  Although Kennedy is a top-notch grappler himself, 25 minutes on the ground with a guy of Jacare’s caliber is going to be too much for almost anyone in the sport.  Jacare by submission.