Former UFC Middleweight Champion and former Strikeforce Middleweight Champion Luke Rockhold is currently on the shelf with a knee injury.
However, once the fighter recovers from said injury, he would like to face Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza inside of the Octagon.
“I could care less what Jacare thinks of my situation, if he thinks I’m running or not,” Rockhold said on The MMA Hour. “It’s pretty laughable to me. ... If the time frame works for him, I think July, International Fight Week, that time frame works pretty nicely. I want Jacare. I’m not looking to come back and dance around, I want the best in the division, and I want to get my title.”
Rockhold and Souza were initially set to headline UFC Fight Night 101 in Australia before the medical issue arose for the former champion. While in recovery, Rockhold has been studying film on his rival and he’s not too impressed with what he has seen.
“I think he’s slow, I think he’s stiff, and I think he forces the fight where I kind of flow with the fight,” Rockhold said. “I haven’t seen him grow since I fought him. Obviously I had a little fallback, but I’ll bounce back and I’ll reset myself and I’ll put that man away, finish it.”
The former UFC Middleweight Champion and Jacare has fought each other before, as Rockhold defeated Jacare by decision to win the Strikeforce Middleweight Title in 2011.
