They met once as prospects ... now this weekend (Fri., Sept. 5, 2014) as Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Middleweight contenders.
It's been a long six years since Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza faced Gegard Mousasi under the DREAM banner. And this Friday, the familiar foes will do it again in the main event of UFC Fight Night 50, which takes place at The Grand Theater at Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, Connecticut.
In the co-main event, Alistair Overeem will try to earn his third UFC victory against former International Fight League (IFL) champion Ben Rothwell. In addition, Matt Mitrione will take on the heavy-handed Derrick Lewis in a match up of heavyweight finishers.
That's not all.
We've got four "Prelims" under card match ups this time around, all of which will join the six-fight main card on FOX Sports 1. Let's get to it:
155 lbs.: Al Iaquinta vs. Rodrigo Damm
After opening his UFC career with a submission loss on The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 15 Finale, Al Iaquinta (8-3-1) quickly found his groove, picking up three straight victories. He seemed on track to make it four against Mitch Clarke before succumbing to an inventive d’arce choke while in top position.
He is seven years younger than the Brazilian.
Rodrigo Damm (12-7) joined UFC having lost four of his previous five fights. He seemed to right the ship in a hurry, winning three of his first four ZUFFA appearances, but recently lost a decision to Dagestani striker Rashid Magomedov.
He owns six wins via submission (five of them rear-naked chokes) and is officially the only man to stop Jorge Masvidal with strikes.
This fight, like all others involving Iaquinta, boils down to one question: can he avoid brain-farting his way to a submission loss. He’s bigger, stronger, and superior on the feet to Damm; plus, while he’s had a dearth of finishes lately, Iaquinta can crack and Damm’s not known for his punch resistance. As long as this fight stays on the feet, Iaquinta should spank him.
There’s the rub, though.
Damm does not have the offensive wrestling prowess to impose his will on Iaquinta. So long as Al doesn’t play around with him at all on the mat and sticks to beating the snot out of him with right hands, things will go swimmingly.
Let’s assume this is that case and say Iaquinta scores the early knockout.
Prediction: Iaquinta via first-round technical knockout
185 lbs.: Rafael Natal vs. Chris Camozzi
Rafael Natal's (17-6-1) main event appearance opposite Tim Kennedy last November came after five wins in six fights, putting Natal on the cusp of contendership. Unfortunately, a knockout loss to Kennedy and a decision loss to Ed Herman set his plans back a bit.
"Sapo" has ended eleven fights inside the distance ... eight via submission.
After his exit from the UFC and loss to Francis Carmont in his return, Chris Camozzi (19-8) quietly put together a four-fight winning streak, capped off with a win over former castmate Nick Ring at UFC 158. He has since struggled to maintain this form, losing his last three fights since that victory.
He stands three inches taller than Natal.
Really haven’t been looking forward to picking this one. Both guys have flashes of...well, not greatness, but something above adequacy interspersed among stretches of disappointment. I can’t fathom how Natal lost to a shopworn Herman and Camozzi couldn’t stop the one-dimensional attack of Bruno Santos.
Eh, let’s go with Sapo.
Camozzi is well-rounded in the sense that he is somewhat competent in most areas. He doesn’t possess the strong wrestling game nor the skill from the bottom to stifle "Sapo’s" grappling attack. While the Brazilian is frustratingly inconsistent, he’ll take this fight if he’s got his head in the right place.
Prediction: Natal via unanimous decision
135 lbs.: Tateki Matsuda vs. Chris Beal
Tateki Matsuda's (10-5) first crack at UFC stardom came on The Ultimate Fighter 14, where he was defeated in the elimination round by Dustin Pague. He has since gone 4-2, winning his two 2014 bouts and earning his first career submission in the process.
He takes this bout on a weeks’ notice and is Beal’s third scheduled opponent following injuries to Rob Font and Dustin Kimura.
Chris Beal (9-0), Ronda Rousey’s first male pick on The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 18, fell in the quarterfinals to Chris Holdsworth in a clash of top picks. He eventually made his promotional debut at UFC 172, knocking out former Arizona State University wrestling standout Patrick Williams with a gorgeous flying knee.
Two of his three knockout wins have come in his last two fights.
Neither man has even been finished as a professional and both employ boxing-centric standup games, so we should be in for an entertaining fifteen minutes. Though Beal’s striking isn’t truly elite, he ought to have the edge. Matsuda just doesn’t seem that impressive overall and is coming in on extremely short notice.
Unlike Rousey, I don’t see anything special in Beal. Still, I see just a bit more in him than I do in Matsuda. He takes the decision in a fun striking affair.
Prediction: Beal via unanimous decision
145 lbs.: Sean Soriano vs. Chas Skelly
Sean Soriano (8-1) faced a stiff test in his promotional debut, taking on Japanese vet "Crusher" Kawajiri on short notice. Though he managed to avoid Kawajiri’s vaunted top game for much of the first round, he eventually succumbed to a rear-naked choke for his first career loss.
He was scheduled to return to the UFC in April against Estevan Payan before being forced to withdraw because of injury.
Chas Skelly (12-1) likewise had a tall task ahead of him when he joined the UFC, debuting against American Top Team super-prospect Mirsad Bektic and dropping a majority decision. He found more success in his second appearance, choking out Finland’s Tom Niinimaki midway through the first round.
He enters this bout on two weeks’ notice, taking the fight just two days after his win over Niinimaki.
Though the quick turnaround and short notice add uncertainty, Skelly seems well-equipped to win this fight. The ease with which he dispatched Niinimaki and holding his own against Bektic both speak volumes about his wrestling ability, the area which did Soriano in against "Crusher."
Soriano appears skilled on his feet and could make a mess of things if he can keep it there. Barring cardio issues from the aforementioned uncertainties, I expect Skelly to impose his wrestling on Soriano, taking the back and locking up the finisher late in the first round.
Prediction: Skelly via first-round submission
Honestly, this is just a great card from top-to-bottom. Hope to see you there, Maniacs.
Remember, too, that MMAmania.com will provide LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC Fight Night 50 fight card, starting with the FOX Sports 1 "Prelims" matches, which are scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. ET, right on through the FOX Sports 1 main card at 9 p.m. ET.
Current UFC "Prelims" Prediction Record 2014: 129-56 (1 NC)