Ronaldo Souza hasn’t had the best of luck post-Strikeforce. Better known to fight fans as “Jacare,” the Brazilian had been denied a title shot in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) despite going on an eight-fight winning streak. He fell short to Yoel Romero by split decision. Many questioned Romero’s win as there was a moment where he held onto the fence to gain top control.
Souza rebounded by obliterating Vitor Belfort. With “The Solider of God” coming off a suspension and booked to face Chris Weidman at UFC 205, many expected “Jacare” to finally get a title shot at UFC 204. Instead it went to Dan Henderson, who had gone 3-6 in his last nine fights.
In all fairness, Souza did turn down a title fight against Luke Rockhold back at UFC 199. That honor went to Bisping, who ended up winning the middleweight championship. Souza pinned the blame on a knee issue.
Speaking to the media in Brazil (via Flo Combat), Souza had mixed feelings on the UFC. While he was bummed out about not receiving a title bout at UFC 204, he’s happy to stay active:
“They failed me, everybody knows that. But I do not feel wronged. I have a good salary, I have a fight now to do. I was told that I should not have accepted this fight. But I’m what, a dancer? A dancer dances, a singer sings, and a fighter does what? Fight. I’ve already gone about eight months without fighting since I beat Belfort. I was going to fight in November against Rockhold, but he withdrew, he was modeling. So, this fight is over and thank god the UFC gave me this opportunity to keep me going.”
When the topic of “Hendo” getting a title shot against “The Count” was brought up, Souza didn’t hold back.
“I deserve to fight for the belt. Everyone knows and is tired of knowing that I am the most viable option for the UFC, both in the media and in the pay-per-view sales, and in everything. And everyone knows it was a disaster for Dan Henderson to fight with Bisping. They did not even show the number of pay-per-views they sold. It sure was a disaster. No one wanted to see that crap of a fight.”
