Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza didn’t hold back when asked his thoughts on Luke Rockhold not accepting a new date for their postponed rematch from last year.
“Rockhold is afraid,” said Souza in an interview with MMA Fighting. “He said he’s hurt, but I see him training all the time on social media, and then he said he wanted to face Jon Jones in a grappling match in January. That makes no sense. He’s not hurt. If he’s injured, he can’t grapple Jon Jones. That’s impossible.
“It bothers me because I wanted to fight in November. Injuries are part of the sport, it happens, but I never thought Rockhold would fake an injury. At first I thought he was hurt, but now I see he just chickened out. It’s clear he’s not injured.”
Souza, a former Strikeforce champion who has lost just once inside the Octagon to Yoel Romero, is set to meet Tim Boetsch now at UFC 208 in February.
“At least I have an opponent and a fight,” Souza said. “Fighters that stayed inactive for a long time don’t do well in the end, so I wanted to stay active. My intention was to fight a top contender in the division, but everyone is hurt.
“This guy is trouble. Tim Boetsch is trouble. He has a heavy hand and can complicate anyone, but I will stay focused to put on a great fight and win. His power is incredible. He’s really dangerous. If you blink, you might wake up later wondering what happened.”
Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza didn’t hold back when asked his thoughts on Luke Rockhold not accepting a new date for their postponed rematch from last year.
“Rockhold is afraid,” said Souza in an interview with MMA Fighting. “He said he’s hurt, but I see him training all the time on social media, and then he said he wanted to face Jon Jones in a grappling match in January. That makes no sense. He’s not hurt. If he’s injured, he can’t grapple Jon Jones. That’s impossible.
“It bothers me because I wanted to fight in November. Injuries are part of the sport, it happens, but I never thought Rockhold would fake an injury. At first I thought he was hurt, but now I see he just chickened out. It’s clear he’s not injured.”
Souza, a former Strikeforce champion who has lost just once inside the Octagon to Yoel Romero, is set to meet Tim Boetsch now at UFC 208 in February.
“At least I have an opponent and a fight,” Souza said. “Fighters that stayed inactive for a long time don’t do well in the end, so I wanted to stay active. My intention was to fight a top contender in the division, but everyone is hurt.
“This guy is trouble. Tim Boetsch is trouble. He has a heavy hand and can complicate anyone, but I will stay focused to put on a great fight and win. His power is incredible. He’s really dangerous. If you blink, you might wake up later wondering what happened.”