UFC Shocker – MMA Fans Stunned

By Barnaby Kellaway

The middleweight division of the UFC is blessed to have a number of legitimate challengers vying for a title shot. This weekend at UFC on Fox 15 we saw the top three all in action, each looking to stake their claim as the number one contender.

In the co-main event Jacare Souza put on a jiu-jitsu clinic to submit Chris Camozzi in under three minutes. Then, in an amazing main event Luke Rockhold dismantled the former champion, Lyoto Machida. It’s this incredible performance which looks set to earn him, over Jacare, the next title shot.

The performance was truly wonderful. For the duration of the fight Rockhold controlled his opponent with domineering strength and technique. After a few scrappy striking exchanges in the first minute, Rockhold got his hands on Machida, it was in these grappling exchanges that his superiority became apparent, culminating in a takedown. From top position the American landed vicious ground and pound, ending the first round with a sharp elbow to leave Machida stumbling to his corner. At the start of the second the Brazilian, who was still wobbly on his feet, fell backwards and Rockhold jumped on top. From there, he showed slick jiu-jitsu to manoeuvre his position and slip in the rear naked choke.

The performance of Souza was also one of excellence. He verified his position as the best jiu-jitsu practitioner in the division, wrapping his body around his opponent until the inevitable tap. But the former Strikeforce champion is a victim of circumstance. He was originally set to face Yoel Romero before the Cuban pulled out with injury. This meant the UFC had to draft in Chris Camozzi to make a second run in the UFC after being dropped in 2011. Had the Brazilian beaten Romero convincingly instead of an unranked UFC castaway then he would have a very good case for the title shot over Rockhold. But as things actually played out, Luke Rockhold had the best fight of his life whilst Jacare won a fight everyone expected him to. Poor old Jacare.

He couldn’t have done any more than he did, he put on a beautiful display of jiu jitsu and ended it in the first round without a scratch on his face. In doing so he extended his unbeaten run in the UFC to five. It just so happens that on this same night, in the same division, a fellow contender put on the best performance we’ve seen this year.

As if his work inside the cage wasn’t enough, the winner did all he could post-fight to sell the idea of a Weidman/Rockhold title fight. In his octagon interview he said, ‘I did my part, Weidman you go do your part, lets take this across the way, Madison Square Garden, let’s make history’. Then on the Fox post-fight show when the two came face to face, Weidman seemed equally keen: ‘I had a dream that I was gonna be fighting at Madison Square Garden in December and it was gonna be a huge, huge fight’ ‘I thought it was gonna be Jon Jones but now I think that I’m finally looking at another guy who i might be fighting’. This is assuming that, as expected, Weidman gets past his next opponent, Vitor Belfort.

Truly, both Rockhold and Souza deserve a title shot but the circumstances have made the decision clear, it’s Rockhold up next.