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Chris Weidman, former middleweight pillar of the Ultimate Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), was supposed to not let himself go to Luke Rockhold as part of the main event à la carte card (PPV) of the UFC 230 held tonight (Saturday, November 3, 2018) at Madison Squared Garden in New York, NY, the winner probably deserves a shot for the future title in 2019. But Rockhold was forced to withdraw his card at because of an injury and it appeared that "All American" should put his hope behind the belt hold.
Fortunately, Ronaldo "Jacare" from Long Island, Souza – who has already worn Strikeforce's 185-pound wreath – was just as eager to climb the number 1 ladder, agreeing to beat Weidman at the last minute in "The Big Apple. Unfortunately for the Long Island native, Jacare does not just squeeze like a boa constrictor, he also hits like a truck.
Jacare sued Weidman around the Octagon to start the match, but neither of the two fighters wanted to pull the trigger in the first minute of the fight. Weidman tried to knock some knees into a Muay Thai clinch, but Jacare managed to keep him out and continue his pursuit. Weidman formed a beautiful combination and a right hand snuck into Jacare's defenses, stirring his legs momentarily but not enough to knock him off his feet. Jacare quickly recovered, while Weidman continued to sting the Brazilian with a snap. Jacare continued to advance, but offered little attack, nothing until it remained about 30 seconds to play, forcing Weidman with solid body shots and a right hand brushing his head.
Weidman began the second stanza with low blows and combinations on the top, while Jacare held her hands glued to her cheeks, trying to sneak in. And once he was able to return, Jacare began to "break the mouth" of "All American", and to work his body. Weidman responded with a big shot that seemed to hurt Jacare, but he went into Zombie mode and just decided to go all the way to win and win. It was his most effective strategy, even if it had a cost: the blood flowed from both nostrils. Jacare gave a header at the end of the round, allowing Weidman to try to get a takedown, which he did; However, Jacare rolled over and found himself at the top, punctuating a punch on Weidman's forehead at the end of the round.
By entering the third and final round, the fight was apparently to win. Jacare continued to attack Weidman's body, but then he really started to score with shots in the head. Weidman responded with a bright knee to the face, which he then followed with an uppercut and a double right hand shortly thereafter. Jacare then hit him with a huge color right on the temple that sent Weidman back – almost idle – and totally out of his mind. Weidman was not absent, but he was clearly out of order. Jacare was standing above him, refusing to add insult to injury, but the referee did not stop him. Jacare had no choice but to push him a few more times until the referee realized that Weidman's lights were on, but nobody was really at home.
Before the stop, Weidman looked very bright … especially after such a long period of layoff. But Jacare is one of the best fighters, the most enduring of the sport, and he showed it tonight. It was perhaps quite impressive for the Brazilian to finally win the long-awaited, well-deserved UFC title.
To complete UFC 230: Results «Cormier vs. Lewis', including play-by-play updates, click right here.
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