Ronaldo Jacare Souza var tidigare tänkta att möta varandra i huvudmatchen under UFC Fight Night i Brasilien i maj, men har nu blivit co-main enligt Jacares tränare.
Det här berättade Gilberto Faria, via ”MMAFighting”:
Jacare’ is going in for a fight on May 14. It’s confirmed we’re not in the main event anymore, but it’s not clear yet which is the main event. The fight went from five rounds to three, which favors Belfort.
A five-round fight would favor ‘Jacare’ because of his endurance as he’s fought five rounds before, and people see Belfort as a dangerous opponent in the first rounds, so he would have to be more careful in the early rounds. They are both going for the finish, so I never saw this fight going five rounds anyway.
UFC har ännu inte gått ut med var galan kommer att hållas, men troligtvis blir det i Brasilia där Antonio Silva mötte Andrei Arlovski i slutet av 2014. Andra tänkbara platser är Curitiba eller Fortaleza.
Oavsett om det blir en huvudmatch eller inte tror Faria att matchen kommer att bli en språngbräda för Jacare som senast förlorade mot Yoel Romero i december.
Jacare’ and Belfort know that a win is the perfect shortcut for the belt. It turned out great for everyone. It’s a good challenge for both, and we guarantee ‘Jacare’ will be ready for it. We’re fans of Belfort for a long time, we like him, but we’re thinking about ‘Jacare’s’ career only. Our plan is to close the distance and finish the fight on the ground, but ‘Jacare’ also likes to strike and will be ready for it.
Den nye mellanviktsmästaren Luke Rockhold kommer härnäst att försvara bältet mot Chris Weidman under UFC 199 och Faria tror att Rockhold försöker undvika en retur mot Jacare. Rockhold mötte senast Jacare under Strikeforce – Barnett vs. Kharitonov i slutet av 2011 och segrade då via ett delat domslut efter 5 ronder.
Our friend Rockhold doesn’t mention ‘Jacare’s’ name anymore. He talks about fighting Anderson (Silva), Belfort, but won’t talk about ‘Jacare’. He fought ‘Jacare’ once and knows it’s a tough fight. He knows he has limited chances at winning. He’s avoiding bringing ‘Jacare’s’ name up again so he avoids this fight.
