There is a wealth of MMA talent emerging from Brazil each and every year. The South American nation is one of the long-standing hot spots of the sport, thanks to former and current champions like Royce Gracie, Anderson Silva, Jose Aldo, and now Amanda Nunes and Deiveson Figueiredo. As we enter 2021, LFA’s Bruno Souza appears to be a name ready to break out — so here’s a breakdown of the 24-year old prospect.
Tale of the Tape
Fighting out of Belem, Brazil but living in Los Angeles, California, US
Age: 24
Weight class: Featherweight
Height: 5’7”
Training out of Machida Academy
Record: 8-1
1 KO/TKO, 2 Submissions
Pros
- Excellent footwork/Light on his feet
- Fast hands
- Nice straight punches
- Very tricky/Hard to read
- Uses a lot of feints
- Throws in volume
- Puts punches and kicks together well
- Good counter striker
- Continual combinations
Cons
- TDD needs work
- Hands held low
- Does get hit too often
- Grappling defense could be better
Striking/Kickboxing: A
Souza was a 2015 world Karate champion and a former national and South American champion as well. Being a karate style fighter his kicks are his most vital weapon, similar to how a boxer primarily uses their hands. But Souza isn’t only a kicker as in fact, he’s a solid striker as well. Mixing in kicks and punches together in combinations is Souza something does extremely well. With credible movement, his counter striking is very much up to par. Fighting on the outside the Brazilian has long straight very quick hands. As the fight goes his pace picks up and so does his output.
Movement: A+
Being a karate fighter it’s important for Souza to have good movement as the stance has your hands low and chin high. His movement makes him the fighter he is today. His striking and kickboxing are so good and that’s because his footwork facilitates it. The angles he cuts off are important to his striking game as well.
Clinch: C
Souza is a distance fighter using a lot of footwork and kicks so the clinch is something he’s uninvolved with. He does have good knees though.
Wrestling: C+
Souza isn’t a wrestler. He’s not someone that will shoot in on the legs or use body locks. He will land some trips and sweeps at times but it’s never been a weapon in his front pocket.
Grappling: C+
Not being a wrestler he isn’t much of a grappler either. Souza does have two submissions which is at least passable. Most of the time when on the mat he’s fighting off his back. Souza has shown to be decent off his back but it’s not up to par
Cardio: B+
Souza has gone the distance four times and only has one finish inside one round. Souza isn’t a slow starter however he tends to get better as the fight goes. Souza fights at a good pace and can do it three rounds no problem.
Defense: C+
Defensively, Souza’s biggest issue is his takedown defense. Always moving he is hard to get a hold of but once so he’s been put on his back a few times. Against a good wrestler, he may struggle as he did against Mike Hamel. Souza does get hit a lot too due to his low stance. He has never been dropped though so his chin has held up.
Overall: B
The prodigy of MMA legend Lyoto Machida, Bruno Souza is a good prospect. Souza mimics the style of Machida with his Karate approach. Souza is currently an LFA fighter who has been put to the test — he’s had a few solid wins thus far in his career, including against Mike Hamel. That was a tough fight for him however and the W came due to a disqualification. Souza bounced back though beating Kamuela Kirk and Guilherme Santos both being firm tests as well. At only 24-years-old Souza has time to shore up his ground game. When he’s on the feet he’s really good already and as time goes by he’s going become an even more dangerous fighter. Watch for Bruno Souza to get a chance to win LFA gold and then jump to the big show.
