Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza will be taking on TUF champion Robert Whittaker in just over a week at UFC On Fox 24.
Jacare wants a shot at the UFC Middleweight Title and he is willing to compete in risky fights until he gets that title shot.
“Nothing ventured, nothing gained,” Souza said to MMA Junkie. “I’m a champion. I believe I can beat anyone, and that’s how a champion should act. I need to work, I need to fight. I’ve said it before: singers sing, dancers dance, and I’m a fighter. If I hadn’t fought Tim Boetsch, how long would I have gone without a fight? And if you pay attention, all fighters who go a long time without fighting don’t return well. My focus is to stay active, to keep working, and the belt. It may not look like it, but I’m focused on the belt. Tim Boetsch was No. 13, but after Bisping fought the No. 13 guy (in the UFC rankings) as a champ, I can fight the 20th. I’ve got to keep working and fighting.”
The fighter has only suffered a single loss in the UFC, which came to Yoel Romero at UFC 194.
Souza would like another shot at Romero, a loss that Jacare finds absurd.
“The loss I suffered to Romero was absurd, but it was a loss, and that delayed things a bit,” Souza said. “The fact that Bisping picked the fight against Dan Henderson (at UFC 204) – there was no other athlete but me to fight then. Romero had beat me, but he was on a doping suspension. I was next in line. I was coming off a win, too.”
UFC On Fox 24 takes place on Saturday, April 15 from the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Missouri with Demetrious Johnson and Wilson Reis headlining. Fightful is providing live coverage of the event, with a post-show podcast to follow.
