Jacare Souza undergoes major surgery, out 6 months

It may be some time before top ranked UFC middleweight Jacare Souza steps into the Octagon again following his recent TKO loss to Robert Whittaker at ‘UFC Fight Night: Kansas City’ earlier this month. Following the fight, Souza was handed a mere 30 day medical suspension.

Now however, it appears as though Souza will be out for longer than initially expected after he was forced to undergo surgery for a ruptured pectoral muscle.

Jacare Souza released a statement to MMAJunkie:

“I opted for the surgery to cure this injury once and for all,” Souza said in is native Portuguese. “I feel relieved. I’m recovering well, and now I’ll take one step at a time until I’m back to training and to the octagon. I’ll be back soon, stronger and hungrier for fights, for wins.”

His surgeon also spoke to MMAJunkie about the procedure, saying:

“‘Jacare’ reported pain during his last fight, not to mention significant loss in strength to his upper limb,” Dr. Rickson Moraes stated. “This kind of injury, a total rupture of the pectoral muscle tendon, usually results in loss of 75 percent of strength. This makes it harder to perform movements of the fight, such as pushing your opponent away, among others. The degree of loss in strength is very relevant when it comes to high-performance athletes, especially when we’re talking about athletes with ‘Jacare’s’ muscle power and physical prowess.

“Everything wet well with the emergency procedure. We reinserted the tendon in the bone and reinforced the area with a graft. ‘Jacare’ will stay under observation, with his arm immobilized. We expect him to be allowed to do physical therapy soon.”

With Souza potentially out for 6 months, the UFC middleweight title picture may have gotten a bit more narrow.

This article first appeared on www.BJPenn.com on 4/29/2017.