Jacare vs. Rockhold Is One of the Best Middleweight Fights of All Time

[Gabe]

Was rewatching old Strikeforce fights today and forgot just how good Rockhold vs. Jacare was. There's actually very few wars that exist in the history of 185 in Strikeforce and the UFC but this fight is definitely toward the top. It was amazing to see an unknown guy in Rockhold who was ranked number 52 or 53 at the time go up agaisnt a prime Jacare who held the title and score the upset.

The fight itself was awesome. Jacare was throwing heat from the start and Luke's chin suorisingly held up well. His defensive wrestling was a thing of beauty in this fight and he never allowed Jacare to gain a dominant position and thwarted most of his takedowns. He also took Jacare's patented right hand and was able to recover and start to take control.

The third and fourth rounds saw a momentum shift for Luke and he displayed some amazing kicks that he has become known for. He tuned Jacare up and never took his foot off the gas. Then in the last round Souza finally scores a desperation takedown but is

unable to do much with it. Very close fight but a UD for Rockhold was the right call. Then both of these guys go on to stay at the top of the division for years to come. Awesome fight and one of the many great highlights of the middleweight division.

 

[Fungoose]

Rockhold didn’t always seem so chinny. I think Vitor and too many AKA gym wars have taken their toll.

 

[Substance Abuse]

How was Mousasi/Lawal though?

 

[UFC178]

sadly Luke will never be the same.

 

[Natesblackshirt]

Uh no

 

[beephin]

Rockholds grappling really is top notch.

It was actually badass when Rockhold said, “I own the ground”

Elite kicks too. Too bad the striking defense isn’t there

 

[beephin]

How was Mousasi/Lawal though?

How was Rockhold Kennedy?

 

[Nightwish]

Strikeforce was one of the best things that happened to MMA.

 

[Thepaintbucket]

Rockhold was a wildman in Strikeforce. I think his age started to show when he came over to the UFC. And of course his fight with Vitor did a number on him.

 

[Sapp]

Rockhold is a complete nightmare to beat if you're trying to impose a grappling gameplan.

 

[MMA4Life]

HIs sub of Boetsch was smooth. Used to be a big fan of Rockhold, I mean I will still watch his fights but he is one of the guys who did better before they pushed fighters to talk a bunch and give them a glimpse of their lives behind the scenes etc. He never seems comfortable in front of a camera. Maybe some his douche vibe he gives off is just him trying to appear to be cool to the fans and it doesn't work. Anyways yeah he put on a lot of great performances he's got great kicks, and his grappling is nasty.

 

[mmacasualviewer]

It was a well rounded fight and the commentary was good with Pat Militech. For sure if you are just talking technical skills and diverse fighting positions compared to the more glamor based fights in the MW division.

 

[MMA4Life]

Rockhold was a wildman in Strikeforce. I think his age started to show when in came to the UFC. And of course his fight with Vitor did a number on him.

Even after Vitor he went on a tear but then Bisping caught him. Branch caught him. Yoel Caught him. No shame to losing to Yoel but the strategy for taking him out is there now. Still agree to your point though he straight slugged it out with Jardine, he ate all of Jardine's shots like it was nothing; fought recklessly.

 

[GordaoPreguico]

I was at that fight. I thought jacare got robbed while at the fight but rewatching it later it was clear rockhold out worked him. It was also the same card an up and coming Cormier put Bigfoot to sleep.

 

[TheLastEmperorReurns]

Really great that we got to see Rockhold/Romero, Romero/Jacare, Jacare/Rockhold.

Truly the epic fights of MW history imo. Those 3 guys were true dogs.

 

[Kertol]

Amazing fight. Rockhold vs Kennedy was another great fight.

It sucks that Rockhold had to run into Vitor who only beat him because he was on the juice. That probably also effected his trajectory.

 

[Fahrenheit1221]

How was Mousasi/Lawal though?

Felt like Randleman/Rutten in a way. Not the same outcome but similar concepts at play. Mousasi doing most of his damage off his back but the scoring tends to favor the guy on top. Rutten got the win where Mousasi did not but I feel an argument could be made that it was a razor thin margin and either guy could have won.

 

[THEfightsAREfixed]

Looking back strikeforce did an amazing job and without injecting all their fighters into the UFC it would have been a much different aliterate dimension where strikeforce grows and gives the UFC a run for its money

 

[orca]

Machida vs weidman was a great fight too

 

[superpunch]

Those 2 guys ended up the best in the world.

Strikeforce was a 2nd tier organization.

What are the odds that the best fighters of a 2nd tier org ended up the best in the world?

We saw the same with so many other "small" orgs. WEC's LWs were supposed to suck, for example. Only their 145 lbers and under were supposed to be the best. Turns out Benson and Pettis were the best in the world. And the UFC's fighters were second rate.

It makes me think the best fighters in the world never even make it to the UFC and it's just random dudes at the top.