Middleweight: Mario Sousa vs. Chidi Njokuani
Tale of the Tape
24-years-old
6’3″
Curitiba, Parana, Brazil
Cães do Ringue
12-1
Eleven finishes
32-years-old
6’3″
Dallas, Texas, US
One Kicks Gym/Sergio Penha Jiu-Jitsu
19-7
Eleven KO/TKOs
Pros and Cons
Mario Sousa
Pros
- Fast starter
- Good front kick
- Submission threat
- Good guard
- Does well off his back
- Decent cardio
Cons
- Poor TDD
- Weak positional grappling
- Hands low/Chin high
Chidi Njokuani
Pros
- Excellent kickboxing
- Athletic
- Good muay thai
- Lethal knees
- Excellent body work
- Good elbows
- Light footwork
- Excelling distance striker/kickboxer
- Nasty left kick to the liver
- Very quick
- Uses a lot of feints
- Cuts angles very well
Cons
- Struggles with his back against the cage
- TDD needs some work
Who has the advantage?
Striking: Njokuani
Speed: Njokuani
Output/Volume: Njokuani
Knockout Power: Njokuani
Chin: Even
Kickboxing: Njokuani
Footwork: Njokuani
Wrestling: Sousa
Grappling: Sousa
Submissions: Sousa
Cardio: Njokuani
Prediction
Sousa has youth, more momentum, and Contender Series experience on his side. Njokuani has more combat experience and high-level experience.
Njokuani fought for Bellator for five years. He went 5-3 for the promotion but lost to Andrey Koreshkov, John Salter, and Rafael Carvalho who are all legit fighters. In fact, Njokuani has been in the cage with Melvin Guillard, Hisaki Kato, Andre Fialho, Ricky Rainey, Max Griffin, Gilbert Smith, and Alan Jouban. The guys Njokuani has beaten had a combined 175-68-2 record. The biggest knock on Njokuani is his questionable takedown defense. He will struggle there; it’s not at all bad though. Actually, it’s Sousa that has the bad takedown defense and struggles way more off his back. Sousa isn’t too good on the feet and putting him against someone like Njokuani is a nightmare. I can’t see Njokuani losing this fight and can’t see Sousa lasting too long.
