MMAmania.com
Sept 2 2014
UFC Fight Night 50 complete fighter breakdown, Gegard ‘The
Dreamcatcher’ Mousasi edition
By Andrew Richardson
MMAmania.com resident fighter analyst Andrew Richardson breaks down
the mixed martial arts (MMA) game of UFC Fight Night 50 headliner
Gegard Mousasi, who looks to defeat Ronaldo Souza for a second time
this Friday (Sept. 5, 2014) at the Foxwoods Resort Casino in Ledyard,
Connecticut.
Former Strikeforce light heavyweight kingpin, Gegard Mousasi, collides
with jiu-jitsu master, Ronaldo Souza, in a long awaited rematch this
Friday night (Sept. 5, 2014) at the Foxwoods Resort Casino in Ledyard,
Connecticut.
After demolishing dozens of fighters in promotions across the world,
Mousasi finally landed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)
when Strikeforce was absorbed. After cruising to a victory over late
replacement Ilir Latifi in his Octagon debut, Mousasi opted to drop
down to middleweight.
Since then, Mousasi first dueled with Lyoto Machida to a close
decision loss. Undaunted, “The Armenian Assassin” returned to the
Octagon just a few months later and absolutely mauled Mark Munoz. Even
with over 30 mixed martial arts (MMA) bouts and three UFC fights, it’s
unclear exactly where Mousasi stands in the division.
To eliminate any doubt, Mousasi will have to take out Ronaldo Souza.
Is he prepared for the new and improved “Jacare?”
Let’s find out.
Striking
With experience in amateur boxing and professional kickboxing, Mousasi
is a very complete striker. Strangely, his stance varies wildly
depending on his opponent, making it a bit more difficult to discover
his habits. However, he does have some tools that he frequently relies
on.
First and foremost, Mousasi has a very nice jab. It’s quick and lands
hard, evidenced by Latifi’s bloodied mug at the end of their bout.
In order to consistently land the jab, Mousasi does a few things well.
Most importantly, Mousasi’s ability to sell his opponent on feints is
excellent. For example, every slight shoulder movement had Latifi
flinching by the end of the first round. Not only does this make it
more difficult for his opponent to predict when Mousasi is throwing
the jab, it helps protect Mousasi from counters.
Additionally, Mousasi switches up how he throws the jab often. On
occasion, Mousasi will simply flick out the jab with little lower body
movement. At other times, he’ll step into the jab and really snap his
opponent’s head back. Or, Mousasi will keep his lead hand low to add a
sneaky upward angle to these strikes. Once Mousasi has established all
these variations of the jab and is mixing them together, it’s very
hard to avoid.
Outside of his jab, Mousasi puts together short but smooth
combinations. He builds off the jab well and often mixes in punches to
the body.
Mousasi is almost always the aggressor. He likes to stalk his opponent
but maintains a proper boxing distance. While pushing his opponent
back with long range strikes, Mousasi’s foe often will attempt to
counter. When they do, Mousasi will take a step back to avoid the
counter then fire back off his own punches.
“Dreamcatcher” is also very skilled with his leg kicks. When Mousasi
stalks his foe, he can be rather flat-footed. But, that also allows
him to really dig his shin into his circling opponent’s thigh. Since
Mousasi prefers the outside low kick — he’ll throw a switch leg kick
if his opponent’s stance requires — it also pins his opponent in
place to absorb a combination of punches. Finally, Mousasi often lands
his leg kick as his opponent backs away from the jab.
Another important tool in Mousasi’s arsenal is the teep kick. Mousasi
often uses it to push his opponent back and control range. Plus,
Mousasi likes to counter his opponent as he looks to re-enter the
boxing range.
Though he doesn’t rely on it much, Mousasi is a competent boxer from
the inside as well, where he largely abandons his jab in favor of
hooks and uppercuts. However, he still mixes shots to the body often.
Wrestling
Though Mousasi’s wrestling ability is often questioned — in part due
to his comfort on his back — he’s a Judo black belt. It may not be
the best area of his game, but Mousasi’s wrestling has looked very
strong thus far in his UFC career.
Mousasi’s double leg is decidedly ugly, but it’s not ineffective.
Mousasi likes to add a trip to his drive to finish the shot if it’s in
the center of the cage. If he pins his opponent to the fence, Mousasi
doesn’t get his hips low enough but still usually manages to finish.
In one very nice setup, Mousasi repeatedly slipped down to avoid Mike
Kyle’s punches. Then, he shot directly off that slip, easily getting
in on his hips.
Usually, Mousasi relies on his Judo to get his opponent to the mat.
Mousasi is really good at pushing his foe around before switching
directions for a trip. Although Mousasi doesn’t usually step across
his opponent’s hip for a toss, he will use a hard whizzer to stop the
takedown attempt and look for a reversal.
Defensively, Mousasi is greatly aided by his distance control. By
forcing his opponent to shoot from far out, Mousasi has plenty of time
to react. He usually just steps off to the side, avoiding the need to
even sprawl. His last bout with Munoz perfectly illustrated this, as
Munoz shot from so far out he often failed to even touch Mousasi’s
legs.
Another excellent defensive wrestling technique that Mousasi employs
is a heavy hip bump. He really showcased it against “The Filipino
Wrecking Machine,” as Munoz was off-balancing himself in a desperate
pursuit to bring the fight to the mat. As Mousasi defended with the
whizzer, he bumped back into Munoz and landed right in mount.
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ)
With 12 submission victories, it’s clear that Mousasi is a talented
grappler. He’s also rather unique, as his ability to do damage from
the bottom is perhaps the best in MMA.
>From the top, Mousasi mostly focuses on damaging his opponent with
strikes. He’ll take a submission if the opportunity arises, but he
mostly just pounds away at his foe. He does, however, usually make
sure to pass guard before really opening up with his ground striking.
Off his back, Mousasi largely uses the butterfly and open guard. He
looks for sweeps and submissions from both positions. While he’s doing
all of this, Mousasi is constantly battering his opponent with punches
and elbows from his back.
To sweep his opponent, it’s vital that Mousasi creates space. An
important part of creating space is to first never allow his opponent
to settle. Once Mousasi’s back hits the mat, he immediately begins
kicking on his foes’ hips, landing small strikes, or elevate his
opponent. As his opponent fights off all of this, he’s not landing
ground strikes or threatening to pass. Instead, Mousasi is the one
with all the openings.
Mousasi’s ground strikes often open up grappling opportunities.
Regardless of whether Mousasi is throwing hammerfists or upkicks, the
idea is still the same. If his opponent is focused on blocking a
strike, it’s going to be more difficult to defend a sweep.
The opposite is also true.
For example, Mousasi used upkicks to land a very nice sweep on
Sokoudjou. Mousasi first landed a couple kicks to Sokoudjou’s chest,
which made him stand up straighter. Mousasi was in a position similar
to the De la Riva guard but instead of hooking around his opponent’s
knee, Mousasi rested his left foot on Sokoudjou’s hip, the same side
that he controlled the ankle. Then, Mousasi dropped his right foot
behind his ankle.
To finish the sweep, Mousasi pulled Sokoudjou’s ankle with his left
hand, kicked out his hip with his left leg, and tripped him with his
right leg. This is sometimes called a tripod sweep.
In Mousasi’s last bout with “Jacare,” he managed to knock the
Brazilian out with an upkick. Mousasi was attempting to kick Souza
away while the Brazilian looked to pass guard. When Souza rushed back
towards Mousasi and attempted to dive into guard with a punch, Mousasi
met his jaw with an upkick.
Another nice example of Mousasi’s ground strike/grappling combo is his
upkick to triangle transition. After getting upkicked, most fighters
will look to rush back into guard. When they do, Mousasi’s legs are
right by their neck, and he’s quick to attempt the submission. Mousasi
managed to finish Denis Kang with this technique and attempted it
against Latifi, as well.
Best chance for success
Mousasi needs to consistently damage “Jacare.” There is little doubt
that the talented grappler will look to take Mousasi down, grind him
out, and grab a submission if possible. Souza can submit any man on
the planet, but Mousasi has the defense to avoid being finished so
long as he’s careful.
Therefore, Mousasi should be most worried about losing a decision
based on top control. In order to avoid that outcome, Mousasi needs to
continually land strikes. On the feet, during Souza’s takedown
attempts, and once they hit the mat, “The Armenian Assassin” needs to
be landing shots.
As he wears on “Jacare,” the Brazilian will undoubtedly get tired.
That’s Mousasi’s time to strike, especially if Souza is shooting for
sloppy takedowns. In that situation, Mousasi can likely reverse Souza
and land his brutal ground strikes from the top position. If Mousasi
wins this fight, it’s very likely by earning his second finish via
strikes over “Jacare.”
Will Mousasi take a significant step towards the title, or can Souza
put the stamp on his title shot?
http://www.mmamania.com/2014/9/2/6091055/ufc-fight-night-50-complete-fighter-breakdown-gegard-mousasi-edition-mma