Jack Hermansson Ready To Surprise Jacare With Ground Game

Most fighters wouldn’t dare test someone as reputed as Jacare Souza on the ground, but Jack Hermansson isn’t afraid of the task.

Hermansson will step in on short notice to fight Jacare this weekend in the main event of UFC Fort Lauderdale. A win would undoubtedly be the biggest of his career.

But while “The Joker” excels on the ground, most would assume he wouldn’t want to compete with a grappling wizard like Jacare and try to keep the fight standing.

“He’s very, great great,” Hermansson told Yahoo when asked about Jacare’s jiujitsu. “Fantastic.”

Despite that, Hermansson thinks he could surprise Jacare on the ground.

“There aren’t a lot of people who have even tried to take him down. People don’t want to be on the ground with him. I think I can go in and exchange with him and you know what? He might be surprised what he finds out about me when we get to the ground.”

Couldn’t Pass Up Opportunity

Hermansson is fresh off a quick submission win over David Branch last month. And when Yoel Romero pulled out of the Jacare fight, he couldn’t pass up the opportunity.

“I didn’t have to think about it at all,” Hermansson explained. “As soon as I got the [offer], I knew the fight was going to happen. It was too great of an opportunity to pass up, but it’s not just an opportunity to fight a great fighter who is ranked above me.

“I feel like I’m going to be able to be the best I can be in there because I had a great camp before the [Branch] fight and I feel very energized. I like having had a fight because I can feel it in my body and my mind and I think I’ll be more comfortable just being in there.”

A fourth consecutive win for the Swede could see him leapfrog a number of contenders into title contention. However, a loss may show that it was too early of a step up.