UFC 194 Breakdown: Keys to Victory for Ronaldo Souza vs. Yoel Romero

UFC 194 will feature a middleweight championship grudge match between undefeated titleholder Chris Weidman and surging contender Luke Rockhold.

As two of the very best 185-pound fighters on the planet, each possess the potential to claim victory on Dec. 12. But no matter which one emerges from UFC 194 with the belt, the winner won’t have too much time to bask in their glory, as the winner of Ronaldo Souza vs. Yoel Romero will most likely be rewarded with a title shot entering 2016.

Their highly anticipated matchup is also part of UFC 194’s historic main card. With Souza’s infamous grappling skills and Romero’s Olympic-level wrestling, nobody is certain how this is going to play out.

But based on their ability to infuse striking, wrestling, and grappling into one complete package, we’re able to dissect their upcoming bout and figure out what will drive them to a successful outing.

Here are their keys to victory leading up to UFC 194.

Striking:

Keys to victory for Souza

A resilient grappler at heart, “Jacare” has been able to evolve his striking technique in just the past few years, culminating with finishes over Yushin Okami and Derek Brunson.

While Souza should not be sending any open invitations to exchange with Romero, he has the power in his hands to hurt the Cuban if he lands one flush shot.

But with a lack of fluidity, movement, and versatility, it will be up to the submission specialist to gauge his distance properly and wait for his opponent’s overzealous attacks to provide an opening.

Keys to victory for Romero

For someone as bulky and ground-based as Romero is, his striking is truly something to watch. His movement, quickness, change of levels, and pressure are some of the best you’ll find atop the weight class.

But he isn’t indestructible. If Tim Kennedy was able to significantly damage him on the feet, Souza could certainly do the same on the heels of one perfectly-timed overhand.

It will be key for Romero to continuously mix it up while standing. This includes three and four strike combinations, flying knees, leg kicks, and timely head movement inside.

Wrestling:

Keys to victory for Souza

While Souza’s most readily available option to finish Romero resides with his submission ability, he’s going to have a tough time dragging the Olympian to the canvas.

It has been done before in the UFC by both Derek Brunson and Ronny Markes, but they each later succumbed to a third-round TKO.

Still, despite his world-class technique, Romero is susceptible to a takedown, especially from someone with outstanding Judo. Souza will simply have to sit back and wait for the powerful Cuban to rush forward with one of his combinations then shoot for a double.

Keys to victory for Romero

Statistically speaking, “Jacare” is one of the hardest middleweights in the world to take down. He has not only defended every takedown attempt through five UFC appearances, but he hasn’t been pulled to the mat since Tim Kennedy did it twice in 2010.

But Romero is a different animal when it comes to wrestling than any other fighter Souza has ever faced, which leads us to believe that “Solider of God” can in fact take the Brazilian down.

However, considering how prolific Souza’s grappling is, Romero’s attention should be focused on defending a takedown, not landing one. Unless he finds himself losing on the feet, then Romero may want to use his ability to score some points and cautiously land some ground-and-pound.

Grappling:

Keys to victory for Souza

There’s no secret that “Jacare” will turn to his grappling if things go awry on the feet opposite Romero at UFC 194.

It’s going to be a tough test to actually get top position on the Cuban wrestler, but Souza may even opt to pull guard in order to feel the cool canvas on his back.

Romero has obviously never been submitted, but when you have the best of both worlds (wrestling and BJJ), someone is bound to break. It may serve Souza well to initiate his ground game before he eats punches and bodies start sweating.

Keys to victory for Romero

Romero’s striking power is too damaging to ever want to go to the ground with someone as dangerous as Souza.

But we’ve seen the 38-year-old get tagged before, leading us to believe that his natural instinct to shoot for a takedown could overtake his gameplan leading into the fight if Souza’s catches him with a good shot.

If Romero finds himself in a grappling war with the Brazilian, whether due to his own misguided offense or one of Souza’s timely throws in the clinch, he must channel his natural strength in order to regain his footing. Finding a way to get his back to the cage wouldn’t be a bad start.