Former Strikeforce Middleweight champion and perennial UFC contender Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza announced on Tuesday that he was hanging up the gloves, and calling it a career in the sport of MMA. The 41-year-old Souza dropped the bombshell news while speaking with Combate.
“I’ve fought a lot!”
“I’ve fought a lot, I retired from Jiu-jitsu very early, I think I’ve fought a lot of MMA and I do not intend to fight again. It’s really over I’m retiring from MMA, and I’m returning to the sport that I made history, the sport that I really like. I’m going back to training and who knows, I’ll go back to competing. I’m challenge-driven, and Jiu-jitsu for me is becoming a challenge because it’s very evolved, there’s a lot of new stuff. It’s beautiful to see.”
The 18-year veteran ends his MMA career on the heels of a four-fight skid, including a devastating knockout loss at the hands of Kevin Holland, and culminating in a broken arm in a submission loss to Andre Muniz at UFC 262 back in May.
History of Violence
Souza first transitioned to MMA in 2006 in his home country of Brazil and went 7-1 before signing with Japanese promotion DREAM in 2008, He went 3-1 with 1 NC while under their banner. Shortly thereafter in 2009, Souza joined the promotion he had the most success with Strikeforce. He went 7-1 under Scott Coker and outpointed Tim Kennedy in 2010 to win the Strikeforce Middleweight title. After Strikeforce was purchased by the UFC in 2013, Souza went on a five-fight win streak, but injury and bad timing prevented a serious title run in the eight years he was with the promotion.
Jacare retires with (26-10-0) 1 NC and has notable wins over Robbie Lawler, Derek Brunson, Vitor Belfort, and Chris Weidman among others. Do you think Jacare made the right decision, or will we see him back sooner or later?
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