Jack Hermansson Derails ‘Jacare’ Souza in UFC Fight Night 150 Headliner

You can sign up for a free seven-day trial of ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream UFC on ESPN+ live on your computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app.

Jack Hermansson badly wanted to have a showcase fight against one of the top-rated middleweights in the Ultimate Fighting Championshipand he made the most of it.

Hermansson was sensational in the UFC Fight Night 150 main event Saturday night as he out-struck, out-grappled and outpointed longtime contender Ronaldo Souza at BB&T Center in Sunrise, Florida. “The Joker” used a wicked left jab and picked Souza apart on the feet for much of the fight and when he needed to, he took the Brazilian down.

Hermansson (20-4) wobbled “Jacare” a few times with sizzling combos of punches to the head in the contest, but he was never able to put his foe away. But as strong of a performance it was, the fight wasn’t a walk in the park. “Jacare” tore apart the Swede’s body and head in the third, hurting Hermansson in the frame. But for reasons only he knows, Souza (26-7) backed away in the fourth and let “The Joker” right back in the fight.

At that point, Hermansson scored a few more takedowns and let his hands go routinely, peppering Souza as time eroded. Souza tried to finish strongly with a volley of punches, but once things got a bit too hairy for Hermansson, he took the jiu-jitsu legend down and sealed his fate. When the fight’s outcome was sent to the three cageside judges, there wasn’t a doubt as to who won; one official had it 49-46 and the other two saw it 48-47, giving Hermansson the unanimous decision in the biggest fight of his MMA career thus far.

Hardy Overwhelms Smoliakov

Former NFL player Greg Hardy got into the win column as he bludgeoned Russia’s Dmitry Smoliakov en route to a first-round stoppage.

Smoliakov (9-3) was gun shy on the feet and seemed to want no part of the American’s striking, opting to back away and look for an opening to shoot in. When Smoliakov missed a chance at a takedown, Hardy (4-1) cracked him with a right uppercut to the face. Smoliakov fell onto the seat of his trunks against the cage and Hardy jumped on him. From there, Hardy unloaded an endless supply of punches and hammerfists until referee Keith Peterson pulled him off. The end came officially 2:15 into the first.

Related » UFC Ft. Lauderdale Round-by-Round Scoring

Perry Outslugs Game ‘Cowboy’

A constant fan favorite, Mike Perry fought an intelligent fight against the always-exciting Alex Oliveira and took home the win via unanimous decision. “Cowboy” came out of the gates on fire, cracking Perry (13-4) with sizzling punches to the head and backing him up. It seemed as though Oliveira (19-7) might get an early finish, but “Platinum” cleared his head and slowed down his pace. From there, the Flint, Michigan, native landed hard punches to the head, threw the Brazilian to the canvas and when he had Oliveira down, Perry pounded him with punches to the head.

Perry hurt Oliveira late in the third with a right hook to the ear, but he couldn’t finish him off. Instead, he had to settle for a judges’ verdict, which he won 29-28 across the board.

Teixeira Survives Early Onslaught; Finishes Cutelaba

Longtime light heavyweight contender Glover Teixeira survived some early adversity on Saturday when he was clubbed and wobbly from some massive punches courtesy of Ion Cutelaba. The Brazilian withstood the punishment, cleared his head and wore down Cutelaba (14-4) enough to submit him in the second.

With “The Hulk” gassing out from his aggressive approach in the first, Teixeira (29-7) shoved the Moldovan to the canvas and quickly moved to mount. From there, Cutelaba gave up his back and when Teixeira sunk in the rear-naked choke, Cutelaba immediately tapped. The end came officially at 3:37 of the second, keeping Teixeira’s potential title hopes still alive.

Sandhagen Upsets ‘Hands of Stone’

In a bantamweight battle that came down to the wire and could have gone either way, it was Cory Sandhagen that had his hand raised over John Lineker when the dust settled.

Lineker was aggressive early and cracked the Coloradan with several clean punches in the first, but Sandhagen (11-1) stormed back in the second with superb movement and counter punching. After trailing early in the third, Lineker unloaded a fierce volley of punches late, one of which rocked Sandhagen. From there, Sandhagen scored a desperate takedown, only to fall into a tight guillotine. Lineker (31-9) ran out of time and couldn’t sink the submission, forcing the exciting battle to go to the judges.

While one judge scored it 29-28 for “Hands of Stone,” that tally was offset when the two other judges had the same score for Sandhagen, who won via split verdict.

Related » UFC Ft. Lauderdale Prelims: Sato Dazzles in Debut

Roberts Stays Perfect

Lightweight prospect Roosevelt Roberts kicked off the UFC Fight Night 150 main card by besting Thomas Gifford over three rounds to remain unbeaten. “The Predator” used a superior striking game and scored multiple takedowns to control “The Young Lion” from start to finish.

Gifford (14-8) never got anything going offensively and never found a rhythm in the contest. Roberts (8-0) never quite had Gifford in serious trouble of being stopped, but he dominated his foe nonetheless. All three cageside judges had it 30-27 for Roberts for the unanimous nod.

Continue Reading » UFC Ft. Lauderdale Prelims: Sakai Nabs Controversial Decision