Ronaldo Souza’s time as a viable title contender in the Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight division may have reached its tipping point.
The two-time Abu Dhabi Combat Club Submission Wrestling World Championships gold medalist played the role of unwitting steppingstone in a unanimous decision defeat to the surging Jack Hermansson in the UFC Fight Night 150 main event on Saturday at the BB&T Center in Sunrise, Florida. All three cageside judges scored it for Hermansson: 49-46, 48-47 and 48-47.
A short-notice substitution for Yoel Romero, “The Joker” outstruck Souza by surprisingly wide margins -- 256-120 in total strikes, 148-90 in significant strikes -- and more than held his own on the ground with the grappling savant, as he recorded three takedowns and accounted for the only guard pass and submission attempt of the 25-minute encounter.