Vitor Belfort vs. Jacare Souza Set For May 14 In Brazil
According to a report from Combate’s Ana Hissa which has now been confirmed by the promotion, the UFC has scheduled a pivotal middleweight bout, as No. 2-ranked Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza will meet controversial former champion Vitor “The Phenom” Belfort on May 14, 2016 in Brazil.
BREAKING! @JacareMMA & @VitorBelfort to headline May 14th card in Brazil! ? pic.twitter.com/25GPqYPqBM
— UFC (@ufc) January 19, 2016
A venue has not yet been determined.
Souza is coming off of a somewhat controversial decision loss to Yoel “The Solider of God” Romero at December 12’s UFC 194, a bout in which Romero tested positive for performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) afterwards.
Prior to this loss, the Brazilian submission ace had compiled eight straight victories including an impressive seven finishes.
Belfort on the other hand, recently bounced back from a failed bid at the title with a devastating knockout over ageing contender Dan Henderson last November.
The pairing of these two Brazilian contenders definitely has an interesting effect on the middleweight title picture.
The winner of Souza vs. Romero was likely in line for a shot, but that will obviously not be the case due to “The Soldier of God’s” drug test failure.
Newly minted champion Luke Rockhold had expressed extreme interest in a rematch with bitter rival Belfort, but we now know that that will also not be next up.
That leaves a potential rematch between Rockhold and former boss Chris Weidman, who “Rocky” beat at UFC 194, or a clash between the champion and the winner of February’s Anderson Silva vs. Michael Bisping scrap.
What do you make of the current state of the 185 pound division?
