Jacare Souza will be competing against Kevin Holland at UFC 256 this Saturday, but he claims that he would have fought last week instead had Jack Hermansson accepted.
As Jacare Souza is well aware, there have been numerous fight cancellations during the COVID era. In fact, Souza was the very first fighter reported to have contracted the coronavirus, which led to his removal from a scheduled UFC 249 bout against Uriah Hall. Seven months later, the roles reversed, with Souza having the opportunity to be the replacement for a fighter who contracted COVID. Coincidentally, that fighter is Souza’s UFC 256 opponent, Kevin Holland. But if Souza had his way, he would have filled in for Holland to fight Jack Hermansson at UFC Vegas 16 last weekend, but Souza claims Hermansson turned the fight down out of fear.
“I’m ready for a fight against whoever the UFC puts in front of me,” Jacare Souza said during the UFC 256 media day. “They talked about ‘The Joker’ (Jack Hermansson) but he was scared.”
Many fans will remember that Jack Hermansson defeated Jacare Souza not too long ago in a unanimous decision victory last spring. So Souza’s claim that Hermansson was afraid of him could lead to some double-takes from those confronted with this quote. But Souza believes that Hermansson knew that a rematch between the two would look differently, and so he took the easy way out.
“I know he was scared,” Souza said. “Nobody can give me a rematch. He picked the Italian Dream, and the UFC put me to fight against [Kevin] Holland. Holland’s a great fighter, he came with some good victories, and I’m ready to fight against this guy.”
At this point, it is crucial for Jacare Souza to have any opponent at all, as the 41-year-old has not competed this year as of yet. And with Souza being very open over the years about how strongly he wants to become a world champion, time may be running out for him. Had he faced Jack Hermansson last weekend, it would have given him an opportunity to re-enter the top 5 and also get retribution for a past loss. Instead, Souza will have to slowly crawl back up the ranks beginning this Saturday against the ascending Kevin Holland.
What are your thoughts on Jacare Souza claiming Jack Hermansson was scared to face him in a rematch at UFC Vegas 16?
