Breaking: Rockhold vs. ‘Jacare’ Souza II To Headline UFC Melbourne
The UFC has announced that former UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold will take on Ronaldo ‘Jacare’ Souza in the main event of UFC Fight Night 101 from Melbourne, Australia:
A former champion will begin his road back to the top while a top contender seeks redemption as the UFC returns to Melbourne, Australia on Saturday, November 26 (Sunday local time) with a five-round middleweight main event pitting Luke Rockhold against Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza at Rod Laver Stadium.
FOX Sports 1 will televise the event, which sees the UFC return to Melbourne for the first time since the historic UFC 193 event in November of 2015.
The former UFC and Strikeforce middleweight champion, and currently the No. 1-ranked contender at 185 pounds, Rockhold is eager to erase the memory of his UFC 199 loss to Michael Bisping and get his shot at a rubber match with “The Count” as soon as possible. But first, the Californian has unfinished business with Brazil’s Souza, a ground wizard with potent punching power who believes he is a completely different fighter from the one who lost his Strikeforce title to Rockhold in 2011. Now, fresh off a stirring first-round knockout of Vitor Belfort in May, the No. 3-ranked Souza can make his own case for a title shot with a win over Rockhold.
Rockhold is coming off a first round knockout loss to current title-holder Michael Bisping at UFC 199, in which he dropped his newly acquired title to the British veteran.
Souza comes off a first round thrashing of No. 5-ranked Vitor Belfort at UFC 198 this past May. With a win over a former champion in Rockhold, the Brazilian may finally get his opportunity at UFC gold.
UFC Fight Night 101 takes place live on FS1, from the Rod Laver Stadium in Melbourne, Australia on November 26, 2016.
