Tatame scores another one today after speaking to the Strikeforce middleweight champ Ronaldo “Jacaré” Souza (13-2) who confirmed that he would be defending his title on Jan. 29th against “Ruthless” Robbie Lawler (20-6) at a recent Jungle Fight 24 event in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
“Jacaré” has won three straight and is 3-1-1 in his last five. He defeated Tim Kennedy at the Strikeforce: Houston show last August to win the vacant Strikeforce middleweight title and will defend the belt for the first time against Lawler. Besides the win over Kennedy, his record over the last five include a unanimous decision win over Joey Villaseñor, a submission win over Matt Lindland, a no contest against Jason Miller at DREAM.9 after Miller cut Souza with an illegal soccer kick, and a knockout loss to Gegard Mousasi at DREAM.6 for the vacant DREAM middleweight title.
Lawler’s record over the past few fights may not support a title shot, going 2-2 in his last four, but will certainly keep fans interested in the fight. “Ruthless” comes in having knocked out Matt Lindland in devastating fashion at the Dec. 4th Strikeforce: St. Louis event. It took Lawler 50 seconds of the first round to lay Lindland out. Other bouts in that 2-2 record include a 195 lbs catchweight loss to Renato Sobral in June, another big first round KO win over Melvin Manhoef in January, and a 182 lbs catchweight loss to Jake Shields in June of last year.