Strikeforce middleweight champion Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza now considers himself a complete mixed martial artist and plans to use all the tools at his disposal to beat Robbie Lawler.But he's got a specific tool of his own to put Lawler in his natural habitat on the ground.
"I don't call my takedowns 'wrestling takedowns,'" Jacare told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). "I call them 'Jacare takedowns' because I've got my own twist on it."
Souza (13-2 MMA, 3-0 SF) meets Lawler (20-6 MMA, 2-2 SF) in the co-main event of "Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Cyborg," which takes place Jan. 29 at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif., and airs live on Showtime.
One can easily see why Souza would want to take the fight there. Seventeen of Lawler's 20 professional victories come by way of TKO or KO, and he most recently sent Matt Lindland into orbit with a blistering combination of punches this past month at "Strikeforce: Henderson vs. Babalu II."
Souza, on the the other hand, has zero knockouts on his resume and has won the majority of his fights by submission. A former ADCC grappling champion, he's one of the more successful submission grapplers to make the transition into MMA. But he's also taken risks where many other jiu-jitsu players-turned-fighters haven't. In a title-winning performance against the dangerous Tim Kennedy, he hung tough on his feet and shied away from turning the fight into an endless loop of takedown attempts.
While he's not necessarily afraid of Lawler, he knows what's brought him success.
"My cardio is up, and I'm ready to show that I'm 100 percent ready to fight," he said. "But the plan is when I see the right time to bring jiu jitsu to the table and use it."
But he also might get some tips from a fellow Brazilian who bucked expectations against Lawler. Renato "Babalu" Sobral took on the hard-slugging middleweight this past June at "Strikeforce: Los Angeles." On paper, he had a significant advantage on the mat. But when the bell rang, he marched up to Lawler and engaged fearlessly on the feet. He also missed some takedowns, but his punches were often straighter and more accurate than the bolos Lawler threw. When the final scorecards were handed in, he was ahead two rounds to one.
"I haven't talked to 'Babalu' yet, but I'm on my way to [Los Angeles]," Souza said. "When I get there, there's a big chance I'll be talking to him. Who knows if he'll give me some tips how to get this fight the way I want."
That is, when to cross that no-man's land of fists en route to the clinch. From there he can use his patented takedown.
"I've been training a lot of cardio and my explosiveness," he said. "I've been training a lot of boxing, and how to [move] in the ring. I know he's a good boxer, but I'm prepared to go there in the fight."
That's certainly the spirit that won him the belt. It could be a dangerous proposition against Lawler. Then again, that's why he got into MMA.
"Every fight is a challenge for me," Souza said. "He's a very tough guy. I know it's going to be a good fight (and) a good battle. But I'm getting ready to fight, and I'm just looking at one fight at a time. I'm ready to go there and show all the skills that I have and come out as champion."
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