Born: September 19, 1989 (Age: 33) in Sao Paulo, Brazil
Division: Lightweight
Height: 5’11”
Reach: Not Disclosed
Record: 14-1
Association: Bonsai Jiu-Jitsu
Stage of Career: Prime
Summary: Satoshi de Souza ranks as one of premier Brazilian
jiu-jitsu practitioners in mixed martial arts today, and while he
has added striking and wrestling skills to his repertoire, he
remains far from a finished product. His standup features a
powerful and dangerous right hand, whether the overhand or the
cross, but his left continues to look weak and flawed. Satoshi de
Souza’s kicks are not especially threatening, either. In terms of
wrestling, he leans on an excellent double-leg shot from distance
but lacks any real setups and owns few other takedown techniques.
His world-class jiu-jitsu serves as a devastating weapon from
virtually any position, as he has finished skilled grapplers from
the top, bottom and even standing positions. Staying in Satoshi de
Souza’s guard is a mistake. He can easily get back to his feet or
sweep with submission attempts, even if he fails to secure a tap.
His ground-and-pound has proven to be quite good, highlighted by
his powerful and tremendously accurate right hand. Some aspects of
de Souza’s game remain a mystery. His cardio has not yet been
pushed to the limit, and his chin has not yet been tested.
STRIKING
• Stance: Orthodox.
• Hand Speed: Average.
• Jab: Pawing, weak and slow.
• Cross: Technical, hard and accurate from the right side. It was
the punch with which he finished
Mizuto
Hirota. He throws it without telegraphing it, unlike many of
his other strikes.
• Left Hook: Mediocre at best. He often fails to put his body into
the punch.
• Overhand Right: Unorthodox and can be telegraphed due to the
windup, but he tries to disguise it. Hard and accurate, with nice
rotation of his body.
• Uppercuts: Does not throw them.
• Solitary Striker or Volume Puncher: Looks for no more than one or
two punches at a time.
• Favorite Combination(s): The one-two, but only the second shot in
the series worries opponents.
• Leg Kicks: Almost never throws them.
• Body Kicks: Serviceable, but they lack power.
• Head Kicks: Shows nice flexibility with them, and while they
likely carry some power, they are often telegraphed and easy to
block or avoid. • Chains Kicks to Punches: No.
Satoshi de Souza presents some danger in the striking
department, all of it stemming from his right hand. Whether it is
his unorthodox overhand right or his sizzling right cross, he can
hurt and even knock out opponents with both blows. Unfortunately,
his standup is plagued by its being telegraphed in nature, making
it easier to avoid and possible to counter. His left hand causes
opponents little concern, with a mediocre hook and a substandard
jab. Satoshi de Souza’s kicks, while not poor, have not yet been
fully weaponized. Still, the right hand has often been enough to
open opportunities for him to get to his grappling.
CLINCH
• Physical Strength: Shows the ability to muscle through certain
takedowns or get to better positions.
• Technique: Sound, but he can be caught off-guard by certain trips
and throws.
• Knees: Throws solid knees to the body but often eschews them in
favor of hunting takedowns.
• Elbows: Does not throw them.
• Defense Against Knees/Elbows: Will eat some knees to the body in
order to get to a better position or to try to secure a
takedown.
Satoshi de Souza mostly looks to get takedowns in the clinch,
often absorbing knees without returning fire in order to do so. It
makes sense considering his skill set. However, he can occasionally
be taken down himself at close range.
GRAPPLING
• Wrestling from a Shot: Fast, explosive double-leg with great
follow through and generally good technique that he can hit without
a setup from long range. However, there are limits to naked
double-leg shots from distance. He completed a double-leg on
Yusuke
Yachi against the ropes in their first meeting but had it
stuffed by
Johnny Case
and
Tofiq
Musayev. He was hit with a switch when he tried a single-leg
shot against Case in their rematch. Satoshi de Souza can chain
wrestle to some extent, but the skill leaves something to be
desired. He reacts to certain leg kicks if he expects them and
often turns them into takedowns, as he did against Yachi in their
rematch.
• Wrestling in the Clinch: Too predicated on forcing through the
aforementioned double-leg or taking the back.
• Takedown Defense: Stout but not impenetrable. Yachi hit him with
an outside trip in the clinch to get a takedown in their rematch,
and Case hit a switch in their rematch for a takedown.
• Ability to Return to Feet: The vast majority of opponents would
be wise to let him do so. He can quickly and athletically post up
when given enough space. Otherwise, Satoshi de Souza excels at
getting up and using sweeps with his lightning-fast traps and
submission attempts from his back.
• Submissions: World-class. Features a ridiculously quick and
sudden triangle from his back, along with a slew of gorgeous
weapons from the top. He also has the devastating flying triangle
he used to tap Case in their rematch.
• Defense/Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu from the Bottom: Insanely good
submission attacks from his back—triangles, armbars and
omoplatas—allow him to either get back up, sweep or outright tap an
opponent. Ground-and-pound is virtually useless against him. Those
who have tried it, like Musayev, regretted doing so.
• Top Control: Often allows opponents to get up by chasing
submissions, but he can also track them closely and anticipate
their moves well.
• Ground-and-Pound: Excels at snaking his accurate right hand
through his opponent’s defenses while putting his body into it.
Known to connect with hard elbows when given the opportunity. When
he climbs to full mount, Satoshi de Souza often unloads with a
series of straight lefts and rights with considerable power and
accuracy. It resulted in a stoppage against Yachi in their first
meeting.
Satoshi de Souza is one of the top Brazilian jiu-jitsu players
in mixed martial arts, and his skills are not confined to one
position. If he fails to secure a submission from his back, he is
superb at trapping an opponent and using the maneuver to either get
to his feet or sweep. He wields a sublime triangle and also excels
at locking in armbars and rear-naked chokes. Beyond submissions, he
features excellent ground-and-pound powered by his deadly accurate
and damaging right hand. Satoshi de Souza could improve on his
wrestling, as he relies too heavily on naked double-leg shots from
long range. While he can be taken down, most opponents prefer not
to spend much time in his guard.
INTANGIBLES
• Athleticism/General Physical Strength: Powerful with incredibly
agile and fluid movements.
• Cardio: Questionable. Looked noticeably winded at the beginning
of Round 2 against Yachi, but he still managed to continue
grappling at a high level.
• Chin: To be determined. His TKO loss to Case resulted from damage
to his eye, not his ability to absorb punishment. He rarely gets
hit cleanly.
• Recuperative Powers: Unclear.
• Intelligence: Brilliant at setting up advantageous grappling
positions and submissions. However, his striking has not improved
as much as many had hoped over the past few years.