Scouting Report: Roberto Satoshi de Souza

Roberto Satoshi de Souza

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.