The intriguing pairing of Jiu Jitsu demon Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza and burly wrestler Tim Kennedy serves as the appetizer before tonight's "Strikeforce: Houston" main course, with the middleweight title up for grabs after Jake Shields defected to the UFC.


Though I've been a staunch supporter of Shields, I believe he evaded a perilous match-up with Jacare (12-2); who is a proven master of submissions and positioning, where Shields thrives.  Jacare is a part of the top one-percentile of unreal sport grapplers who've transitioned to MMA, joining the likes of Demian Maia, Marcelo Garcia, and Braulio Estima.  I can't always put it into the proper words, but there just seems to be something "special" about the way Souza has adapted to the harsh environment and unfriendly variables of the sport.


His boxing game has evolved by degrees, his wrestling is solid for a submission-fighter, he's slippery everywhere, blindingly fast standing or grappling, and the kid just seems like a natural born scrapper who belongs in full-contact fighting.  Jacare's flaws thus far are a loss to Vale Tudo veteran Jorge "Macaco" Patino in his MMA debut, a shocking TKO by way of upkick from Gegard Mousasi in DREAM, and a No Contest from an illegal soccer kick in his entertaining chronicles with Jason "Mayhem" Miller.


Tim Kennedy loves the smell of napalm in the morning, charges after people attacking him with machine guns, and is worthy of almost any other cliche available for how tough people who have been in a true war are.  He fights like you'd expect the soldier type to:  all business, nothing fancy, decent stand-up, but mostly intends to take you off your feet, crumple you into a pile on the ground, and pound on you mercilessly until he doesn't need to any more.  Out of twelve career wins, he's seen the judges' cards once, and finished every other fight by a fairly even split of subs or strikes.


Holding a 12-2 record eerily similar to Jacare's, Kennedy lost his first fight to a more experienced fighter in Scott Smith, and went on a lengthy winning streak before dropping one more.  Both Jacare and Kennedy have bounced back with a handful of victories since their last loss, but it's noteworthy that "Mayhem" Miller was the fighter who last beat Kennedy; who Jacare outlasted to a decision.


Most of Jacare's vulnerability has been standing, somewhere Kennedy isn't much of a threat.  Kennedy throws ungodly jackhammers on the ground, which is both a threat and a doorway inviting a submission.  Given Jacare's omnipotent grappling pedigree and feisty striking, he should give Kennedy more than he can handle.  My prediction:  Jacare by submission

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