Jacare Souza-The heir to Paulo Filho?

[EJRMAN513]

Seriously minus the physical features of the two, I find Jacare and Paulo Filho of prime to be very similar in styles, skillsets and positions in the 185lbs division. Lets look at some of their similarities

Both are Brazilian obviously. Both train/trained with Anderson and Anderson has said about both that he would not fight Jacare right now or Paulo in his prime. Both are awesome BJJ artists and during their time, got their wrestling up to par to make their BJJ more effective plus the striking, boxing in particular, isn't/wasn't bad at all. Another one is despite their obvious size differential, both were/hard very hard to out-muscle in any fight(Filho was able to stiffle alot of Chael Sonnens offense, who is a very very strong MW) and we know about Jacares strength at the moment.

The only real distinct differences I see are that Paulo Filho was undefeated until his problems started and it all went down hill while Jacare has losses but has been able to maintain consistency. Also Paulo Filho was the consensus number 2 MW for a period of time while Jacare as far as I know has only been ranked in the top 5 but never in the top 3 MWs.

What do you guys think of my comparison?

 

[VinceArch]

Jacare is much more exciting than Paulo.

 

[Shadowthrone]

good stuff jacare could be champ some day(if silva ever retires)

 

[Dethrone1989]

Jacare would never lose to Chael Sonnen.

 

[EJRMAN513]

Jacare would never lose to Chael Sonnen.

Paulo Filho never lost to Chael Sonnen. The Filho that fought that night in Hollywood, Florida was a shell of his former self.

 

[therealcthegr81]

Jacare is a killer right now!!! One of my favs, he WILL be champ one day

 

[Taric]

Jacare would never lose to Chael Sonnen.

Filho was fighting 3 men in the cage that night. Odds were against him.

 

[Thunderkraken]

Paulo Filho never lost to Chael Sonnen. The Filho that fought that night in Hollywood, Florida was a shell of his former self.

And mildly crazy.

Filho was fighting 3 men in the cage that night. Odds were against him.

Lol.

 

[Joker Jiujitsu]

Jacare's ground game is better.

 

[Dethrone1989]

Paulo Filho never lost to Chael Sonnen. The Filho that fought that night in Hollywood, Florida was a shell of his former self.

Filho was fighting 3 men in the cage that night. Odds were against him.

Haha true true....dude was out of his mind that night. I remember I think it was Frank Mir kept saying "WHAT IS HE KEEP LOOKING AT?!"

 

[beastman]

Jacare is better than Filho, and much less crazy.

 

[Taric]

Jacare is much more exciting than Paulo.

What is this based on? Filho was non-stop action prior to 2008.

You're confusing mini-Arona with regular Arona.

 

[IThinkNot]

i don't see jacare winning the title.

 

[soggyfist]

Let us not jinx Jacare.

 

[pdoogie2001]

Seriously minus the physical features of the two, I find Jacare and Paulo Filho of prime to be very similar in styles, skillsets and positions in the 185lbs division. Lets look at some of their similarities

Both are Brazilian obviously. Both train/trained with Anderson and Anderson has said about both that he would not fight Jacare right now or Paulo in his prime. Both are awesome BJJ artists and during their time, got their wrestling up to par to make their BJJ more effective plus the striking, boxing in particular, isn't/wasn't bad at all. Another one is despite their obvious size differential, both were/hard very hard to out-muscle in any fight(Filho was able to stiffle alot of Chael Sonnens offense, who is a very very strong MW) and we know about Jacares strength at the moment.

The only real distinct differences I see are that Paulo Filho was undefeated until his problems started and it all went down hill while Jacare has losses but has been able to maintain consistency. Also Paulo Filho was the consensus number 2 MW for a period of time while Jacare as far as I know has only been ranked in the top 5 but never in the top 3 MWs.

What do you guys think of my comparison?

You're not taking into account two things: one, Jacare is a "top-game" BJJ guy, and a Judo black belt as well. I've never considered filho's wrestling or general clinch game to be anywhere near on par to Jacares, nor is his athleticism. Not to mention Jacare's mind is made of stone, Filho had severe psychological issues. Jacare would run throgh sonnen as well, IMO, Maia made easy work oof him using a judo throw, Jacare is much better at that game. This is a horrible comparison IMO, the only similarity is they are both BJJ champions...

 

[ralphus1]

Haha true true....dude was out of his mind that night. I remember I think it was Frank Mir kept saying "WHAT IS HE KEEP LOOKING AT?!"

Frank also said something to the effect of "Filho is talking to Jesus in there", which would be funny if it wasn't so sad.

 

[Solidseifer]

They are nothing alike. Jacare is not in his prime yet. He is improving every fight. His striking is already much better than prime Filho.

Next, Jacare has the skills to beat the best in the world. Filho's skill base was okay for his time, but his BJJ game and wrestling was not on par with Jacare. His best wins were against Manhoef, and Non prime Chael.

Filho had great times ahead if he did not lose his mind.

 

[The Real Pedro]

Filho was fighting 3 men in the cage that night. Odds were against him.

Hahahahahahahaha. Dang, I shouldn't laugh at mental patients. By far the strangest fight I'd ever seen. I can't believe the doctor, the ref, and especially his corner let that fight go forward.

 

[HaulParris]

Also this is a hilarious/disturbing read (though what Filho allegedly said to Sonnen is similar to what Mir allegedly said to CroCop during their sparring exhibition "fight" at UFC 119):

http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2010/5/10/1465694/chael-sonnen-reveals-what-paulo

 

[moreorless87]

You're not taking into account two things: one, Jacare is a "top-game" BJJ guy, and a Judo black belt as well. I've never considered filho's wrestling or general clinch game to be anywhere near on par to Jacares, nor is his athleticism. Not to mention Jacare's mind is made of stone, Filho had severe psychological issues. Jacare would run throgh sonnen as well, IMO, Maia made easy work oof him using a judo throw, Jacare is much better at that game. This is a horrible comparison IMO, the only similarity is they are both BJJ champions...

I can't agree with this, Jacare is a pretty good wrestler by typical BJJ standards but he's had trouble taking down a lot of opponants who I wouldn't say had world class takedown defence. Filho's pure BJJ was not at Jacare's level but I think he was a superior wrestler and probably a superior athlete.

Obviously Filho was held back by his drug problems but I wouldn't say he was mentally weak in the ring/cage, he showed great ability at weathering a storm and was I'd argue tactically superior to Jacare who can IMHO too often get drawn into fighting his opponants game.

Standup wise I think there pretty similar although there are signs that Jacare is still inproving and may surpass him there which would obviously make a big difference.