Kennedy wants another 5 rounds with Jacare

Strikeforce's Tim Kennedy: "I want another five rounds with that guy"
by John Morgan on Aug 23, 2010 at 8:30 am ET
For 25 minutes, Strikeforce middleweight challenger Tim Kennedy (12-3 MMA, 3-1 SF) did everything he could to claim the promotion's vacant belt.

The military veteran outstruck Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza (13-2 MMA, 3-0 SF) for the five-round contest – both in volume and efficiency. He scored takedowns while defending the grappling advances of the decorated grappler that stood across the cage.

Yet in the end, it wasn't enough. Now Kennedy wants another chance to prove it should have been.

"I know I don't really have an objective opinion, but I'm pretty accurate in how I view how fights went, and I thought I landed more strikes," Kennedy told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). "I thought I landed more kicks. I knew I stuffed both of his takedowns. I knew I was the only one that scored takedowns. I knew I was the one that was controlling the center of the ring. In my understanding of the scoring of MMA, that means I won the fight."

Unfortunately for Kennedy, the three judges in charge of Saturday's "Strikeforce: Houston" co-main event felt differently, and Souza was awarded a unanimous-decision win – and the 185-pound title.

Kennedy said as the scores were being read at the conclusion of the contest, he had difficulty believing his ears.

"Before they announced the decision, I looked up, and I saw the statistics of me having landed more shots, more kicks, a higher percentage of the strikes and stuffing both of his takedowns and scoring the only two takedowns of the fight," Kennedy said. "At the conclusion of the fight, I was surprised.

According to a FightMetric report, Kennedy landed 69 total strikes to Souza's 48. But the Brazilian did hold the edge in strikes to the head, 36 to 31.

And it was "Jacare's" aggression on the feet that Kennedy said was most surprising.

"We're talking about the most decorated grappler on the planet," Kennedy said. "I was expecting him to want to grapple – or at least engage me and not take pop shots while he was backing up. He fought a perfect, great fight, countering me the whole time, but I wanted a lot higher-paced fight, and I was surprised with the counterpunching.

"I was expecting him to be shooting. He only shot two times that whole fight. In 25 minutes, Ronaldo 'Jacare' Souza shot twice. He's never done that before. I was surprised."

It was a valuable experience that Kennedy says will have him better prepared for a potential rematch.

"I got a really unique insight into how 'Jacare' can fight with me, and next fight will be much different," Kennedy said. "It will not be us stalking each other for 25 minutes.

"I know I can beat him in the wrestling department. I felt him on the ground. He's still so dangerous on the ground, but I want to spend a lot more time with him there. I think I can hurt him there. I'll definitely be taking him down some more."

The middleweight division is one of Strikeforce's deepest, so the promotion has a handful of options moving forward. A long-rumored tournament may ultimately provide Souza's first opponent as champion.

But if Kennedy has any say, a rematch will be next up for both fighters.

"I love fighting," Kennedy said. "I try to go out there and do my best. I was really frustrated with the end result. 'Jacare' is an amazing contender and now a champion. I was humble with the opportunity to be in there and go five rounds with him.

"I think it goes without saying that I want to go out there and do another five rounds. When I was in the back getting stitched up, I told the doc, 'Make sure they're tight because I want to get back in there in the next couple of months and do that exact same thing over again.'

"I want another five rounds with that guy, and it's going to be different."

For more on "Strikeforce: Houston," check out the MMA Events section of MMAjunkie.com.

-It was too close not to have a rematch I think.