Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza isn’t a happy camper heading into his UFC 208 fight this Saturday against middleweight slugger Tim Boetsch.
Souza was scheduled to face Rockhold in November but the former middleweight champion had to bow out of the fight due to a knee injury. Understanding at first turned to anger when he seen Rockhold training and challenging former light heavyweight champ Jon Jones to a grappling contest.
“I was looking to fight Luke Rockhold but it seems like he got hurt and now I keep seeing him on social media training and doing things so now I think he’s running,” Souza told Fox Sports.
“Well at first, I felt kind of sad for him because he got hurt and couldn’t make the fight. I put myself in his shoes and I felt bad about it. But then after a while, watching him training and then especially when I saw he challenged Jon Jones for a grappling match, which we all know if you’re hurt you can’t do grappling, and he wants to fight him, it kind of changed my mind and what I think about him.
“Everything crossed my mind now that he’s running away from me and he’s afraid to fight me.”
The No. 1 contender in the UFC middleweight division then turned his frustration toward current middleweight champion Michael Bisping who he feels only wants to fight guys like 46-year-old Dan Henderson and future matchups against welterweight champ Tyron Woodley and a semi-retired former 170-pound champ Georges St-Pierre.
“Fighting the top guys for sure, that’s what I want. That’s what I always want but a fight against (Michael) Bisping — Bisping’s a disaster,” Souza said. “He doesn’t want to fight contenders. He doesn’t want to fight.
“He wants to fight for money. He doesn’t respect the fans. He doesn’t respect the fighters. He only wants to fight for money. So for me, he’s a disaster for this division.”
UFC 208 takes place on Saturday night from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY. The main event features Holly Holm against Germaine de Randamie for inaugural featherweight title.
