Ronaldo Souza V Robert Whittaker: What will go down:

'Jacaré' is still waiting on a Middleweight title shot:

UFC Fight Night Kansas City, sees a big Middleweight clash take place, as Brazilian grappling phenomenon Ronaldo 'Jacaré' Souza takes on Aussie youngster Robert Whittaker. Despite clearly earning a title shot after his UFC 198 win over Vitor Belfort, Souza continued to stay active, and in the process, steamrolled Tim Boetsch to assert himself as one of the greatest 185lbs active today.

Saturday's opponent Whittaker, is a tricky customer, and has a slick boxing base, evident from his first round KO win against Derek Brunson back In November 2016, adding to his other notable wins over Rafael Natal, and Uriah Hall. Whittaker's black belt in Karate presents a danger on the feet for 'Jacaré' but nothing he hasn't seen before, conquering elite level strikers Belfort, Alexander Shlemenko, Gegard Mousasi and former UFC Welterweight champ 'Ruthless' Robbie Lawler during his so far illustrious career. A black belt in both Judo and BJJ, Souza is a real treat to the Middleweight crown, weather that be held by current king Michael Bisping or the returning Georges St-Pierre, and his vast experience is one of his best allies.

Due to the current state of affairs in the Middleweight division, contenders like Yoel Romero, 'Jacaré', Gegard Mousasi and even former champs Luke Rockhold and Anderson Silva are all calling for title stints, so the most logical move would be to see Souza face Romero in a title eliminator, if the Vila Velha native can overcome Robert Whittaker. Many other possible match ups to establish top level challengers, would pit Rockhold and Mousasi together, and after Kelvin Gastelum's UFC 212 woes, have the 'The Spider' rematch Vitor Belfort in the night's co-main event. Nevertheless, I believe Souza's grappling will present too much of an obstacle for the younger, less experienced Whittaker to overcome, unless he can land a big shot early on.

Ronaldo Souza via submission.

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