I Jacare is a brilliant wrestler ....established himself as an extremely effective MMA grappler (even his wrestling), not just a bjj legend. Meaning not only is it pretty much game over once he gets guys down, but also that he's developed the ability to get them down in the first place. ..And unlike traditional wrestlers, guys like Jacare and Maia have a HUGE edge when it comes to working for TD's: .
Let me add ..
Regarding his wrestling and takedowns and the many set ups he uses to get the takedowns. They are a cornucopia of brilliance.
When striking, one of his favorite techniques to get in the telephone booth range with his opponent is to throw a left hook to overhand right combo and then clich so he can hit a judo throw/trip from a bodylock. Additionally he'll throw faclever spinning heel-kick to get in close and put his hands on his man. The methods are very deep for him to set up a takedown as opposed to a traditional wrestler. I mean, Jacare has various methods to bring his guys to the floor as seen in recent fights and discussed below:
it's not just that Jacare has takedowns, it is the myriad ways that he accomplishes it in his cavernous tool-kit to cull from when the opportunity presents itself. Much of his striking is intrinsically window dressing as to get his man thinking kick boxing match before ultimately ending flat on his ass and subsequently having one of their limbs ripped from their anatomical structure. I'm going off memory on some of these but most are supported with statistics. The main thesis is the various methods utilized by the Brazilian to ground his opposition.
Go back and watch them for yourself.
Ed Herman fight Jacare 2-2 in R1 to tap-out in first-round.
Carmont did infinitely better than ANYONE else has. Jacare went 2-4 over 15 minutes and Francis defriended brilliantly once he was taken down. Indeed he never allowed Jacare to settle into position and ever get his shoulder blades flat to the canvas and relinquish position. Instead Francis continued squirming, shrimping, and bucking his hips to offset Jacare's rhythm . Nevertheless, once Jacare got him down he controlled the round by eating clock.
Camozzi = one take down plus one submission attempted = tap-out = Jacare victory.
Tim Boetsch: Initially "The Barbarian" stuffed Jacare's first 2 offerings but made one tiny mistake by throwing a ill-advised low leg kick in which Jacare scooped and drove him to the fence off a single takedown, dumps Tim, steps over his knee into the full mount and the clamps down onto a Kimura with the force of a shark bite. Game. Set. Match. Hit the showers. Fight is over.
Belfort: The "Phenom" stuffs the initial two shots (blast double legs) and was forcing Jacare into a glorified kickboxing match before circling the wrong way, trying to reset, and giving Jacare the opportunity to blast in with cat like quickness and secure the takedown. This takedown illustrated Jacare's wrestling versatility as he eschewed a basic single or double which would have allowed Belfort to get back into position, by centering his feet up and gathering his base underneath him where he could obtain under hooks to stuff the shot. Instead Jacare took the path of least resistance and hit a good old fashion John Smith style ankle pick. Belfort never got back up and was bludgeoned.
Mousasi: so Moose stuffed the first 3 TDA's and 4-10 TDA's but they started coming to easier later in the fight. Indeed, by round three Jacare hit 2–3 TDAs and only attempting one submission — the guillotine — which was tight as a vice. Result: Tap-out Mousasi winner Jacare.
If past is prologue, Robert Whitaker cannot make a single mistake less he end up on his back and getting a limb ripped from his body.
