Jacare: It’s My Time, I Can Finish Anybody In The Division

By submitting Chris Camozzi in the first round of the UFC on FOX 15 co-main event from Newark, New Jersey, last night (Sat., April 18, 2015), Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza destroyed an opponent he’d already beaten, recording his fifth straight mixed martial arts (MMA) win in the Octagon and eighth overall.

He’d certainly have liked it to come over his original opponent Yoel Romero instead of journeyman Camozzi, yet had no choice but to roll with the punches and take on the only fighter brave enough to face him on six days notice.

The win most likely did nothing for the No. 1-ranked Jacare’s overall plight, and may have ironically cost him standing given that Luke Rockhold dismantled recent No. 1 contender Lyoto Machida with a devastating submission in the main event of Saturday night’s card.

But if you ask Jacare, he not surprisingly believes that now is still his time. The Brazilian grappling legend gave a short and definitive view of his position in the crowded 185-pound landscape during last night’s post-fight press conference:

“Yes, I believe 100-percent it’s my time. I am the number one contender.”

Jacare has the fact that Rockhold beat him for the Strikeforce middleweight championship in 2011 hanging over his head, yet he still believes that he won the fight:

“I fought Luke a long time ago, everybody knows he didn’t beat me. The judges (scored) the fight for him. I come to fight, I’m ready for the title. It is my fifth fight in the UFC. I can finish anybody in the division. It’s my time.”

It’s hard to argue with Jacare’s logic here, but it may be even harder to argue with Rockhold’s recent of body of work that has seen him finish four straight top 15-ranked opponents in the span of only six rounds.

Both Rockhold and Souza are on insane tears, and both rightfully deserve a title shot. There’s still a lot of sorting out to do in the middleweight division, however, as Chris Weidman will face Vitor Belfort for the title in their long-awaited and much-delayed showdown at May 23’s UFC 187.

The general consensus is that Rockhold, or perhaps to a lesser extent, Jacare should be the next to face the winner of that fight for the belt. Whom do you think deserves a title shot most?

Photo Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports