UFC Fort Lauderdale: Jack Hermansson Upsets “Jacare” Souza

Jack Hermansson stepped up to face perennial contender “Jacare” Souza at UFC Fort Lauderdale, and “The Joker” proceeded to score the biggest win of his career to date.

Hermansson came out light on his feet and firing the odd kick, while Souza looked to counter. Both middleweights scored with hard rights soon after. Souza proceeded to land a couple of nice shots to the body, but moments later, Hermansson stunned Souza with a flurry as he waded in. Hermansson jumped on a guillotine choke, but Souza remained calm and managed to scramble out.

Hermansson came out aggressively in round two, and after several exchanges, he took Souza down. Hermansson stayed busy from the top position with strikes, but didn’t look to pass Souza’s closed guard. The latter, meanwhile offered little to no offense from his back.

In round three, Hermansson shot in not long into the frame, but Souza defended. Souza started to score more often with his punches, although, Hermansson also landed some nice counters. Souza starting digging to the body of Hermansson more frequently, and moments later, he planted a hard right. 

Hermansson shot in early once again, but Souza squashed the attempt. Hermansson tagged Souza with a huge uppercut moments later, and a wild exchange ensued. Hermansson stayed busy with his jab and he scored with another uppercut later in the frame. After four rounds ended, it looked like Souza would need a finish to win.

Hermansson charged out in round five and briefly took Souza to the mat. Hermansson’s volume continued to be a problem for Souza. “Jacare” returned to punishing Hermansson’s body with punches and pressed forward throughout much of the round. With less than 20 seconds, however, Hermansson scored a beautifully timed takedown.

Despite Souza’s late effort, it was too little, too late, as Hermansson received the UD win.

Here are the complete results from UFC Fort Lauderdale.

Jack Hermansson def. “Jacare” Souza via unanimous decision (49-46, 48-47, 48-47)

Greg Hardy def.  Dmitrii Smoliakov via TKO (punches) R1, 2:15

Mike Perry def. Alex Oliveira via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Glover Teixeira def. Ion Cutelaba via submission (rear-naked-choke) R2, 3:37

Cory Sandhagen def. John Lineker via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

Roosevelt Roberts def. Thomas Gifford via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Takashi Sato def. Ben Saunders via TKO (punches & elbows) R2, 1:18

Augusto Sakai def. Andrei Arlovski via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

Carla Esparza def. Virna Jandiroba via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)

Gilbert Burns def. Mike Davis via submission (rear-naked-choke) R2, 4:15

Jim Miller def. Jason Gonzalez via submission (rear-naked choke) R1, 2:12

Angela Hill def. Jodie Esquibel via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)

Dhiego Lima def. Court McGee via split decision (30-27, 28-29, 29-28)