Jacare Souza Training In Garage Ahead Of UFC 249

UFC middleweight contender Jacare Souza is compromising.

The Brazilian was set to face Uriah Hall on the main card of UFC 249 on April 18 in Brooklyn, New York. However, with the coronavirus pandemic gripping the world, Souza has had to relocate his training camp to his garage in Florida.

Souza usually trains out of Fusion X-cel Performance but the gym shut its doors until April 1 due to the restrictions set in place such as a limit of 10 people in one location.

Whether he ends up fighting Hall is another question — although Dana White has maintained UFC 249 will still take place — but for now, head coach Josuel Distak continues to train him as if the fight is still on.

“We continue to train hard because we weren’t told otherwise,” Distak told MMA Fighting. “We expect this event to happen. We’re training well.

“The government ordered all gyms to close for two or three weeks but we have our plan B, a gym at ‘Jacare’s’ house, a garage with mats, and we’ll keep training for those three weeks at ‘Jacare’s’ garage.”

Along with Souza, a number of other fighters are also training in the garage. When they are not training, the coaches and fighters remain in a local hotel.

“We go from the hotel to his garage and straight back, and we’re being very careful,” Distak added. “Our biggest concern is about Brazil because it doesn’t have the structure that we have in America. … That’s messing with our heads.”

For now, there are no coronavirus concerns among their family or friends.

And whether UFC 249 happens, with or without an undercard, remains to be seen at this point.

What do you think of Souza training out of his garage?