Jacare Souza issues statement after KO loss to Kevin Holland: “I will be back stronger”
Brazilian MMA legend Jacare Souza has released a statement after finding himself on the receiving end of a highlight-reel knockout last weekend.
Jacare, the former Strikeforce middleweight champion, returned to the cage on the main card of UFC 256 last Saturday in Las Vegas. While he was originally expected to fight Marvin Vettori on the card, a series of COVID-19-related shakeups resulted in his being matched up with Kevin Holland at the last minute.
Unfortunately for Jacare and his fans, this short-notice scrap ended in disaster, as he was knocked out by a series of bottom-position punches from Holland.
On Tuesday, Jacare took to Instagram to issue a statement on this tough setback.
See what he had to say below:
View this post on Instagram
“Ronaldo Jacare here,” he began. “I’d like to say thanks to everyone who was rooting for me.
“I did a very hard training camp,” Jacare continued. “I’m very upset because I lost the fight. Right now I’m going to Brazil. I will spend time with my family right now. Thank you everyone that rooted for me. I will be back stronger.”
Prior to his loss to Holland, Jacare had not fought since November, 2019, when he lost a split decision to Jan Blachowicz, who is now the UFC light heavyweight champion. Prior to that setback, he lost a decision to Jack Hermansson. The Brazilian’s last victory occurred in November, 2018, when he scored a highlight-reel, one-punch knockout win over former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman in one of the year’s best fights.
While Jacare, 41, is clearly not ready to retire just yet, it’s possible that his job with the UFC could be in jeopardy, as the promotion is currently in the process of downsizing its roster, and has cut other high profile fighters like Yoel Romero and Anderson Silva.
What do you think the future holds for Jacare Souza after UFC 256?
