Jacare Souza Eying Key Fight At UFC 204
No. 3-ranked UFC middleweight contender and former Strikeforce champion Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza has made it clear that he’s not too pleased with being skipped over for a title shot by No. 13-ranked Dan Henderson, who will face off with newly minted 185-pound champion Michael Bisping in the main event of October 8’s UFC 204 from Manchester, England. While a title shot is out of the question for “Jacare” at this time, the Brazilian has asked for the next best thing: a fight with a top contender at the very card in which the title will be defended:
I want to fight on UFC 204 in Manchester against a top 3 of my division @ufc @danawhite @canalCombate @ufc_brasil @UFCONFOX
— Ronaldo Jacaré (@JacareMMA) August 6, 2016
Ahead of Souza in the rankings are two former champions in No. 2-ranked Chris Weidman and No. 1-ranked Luke Rockhold, and both men would make sense for the Brazilian.
Rockhold is coming off of a shocking first round knockout loss to Bisping last June, and is looking to work his way back into a title fight in the fastest way possible. Souza and Rockhold have actually met before at a Strikeforce event back in 2011 where Rockhold scored a decision victory and stole “Jacare’s” title. It’s now a perfect time for the rematch to finally take place with the winner likely getting the next shot at gold.
Weidman, on the other hand, hasn’t competed since surrendering his title to Rockhold last December. The New York native was scheduled to rematch Rockhold in June, but was forced to withdraw with an injury. Although he’d like to fight in November at Madison Square Garden, a fight between he and Souza would also make perfect sense as a potential title eliminator.
Who would you like to see “Jacare” battle with next?
