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What's the story?
Fresh off a huge win over former UFC Middleweight Champion, Chris Weidman, Ronald 'Jacare' Souza is seemingly not interested in being anyone's "Plan B" and is looking forward to a shot at the UFC Middleweight Championship in 2019.
In case you didn't know...
Jacare Souza was initially expected to face David Branch on the 3rd of November, 2018 at UFC 230, however, following an injury to Luke Rockhold, who was set to compete in the co-main event of the evening, Souza had to fill in as a replacement for the former Middleweight Champion to face Chris Weidman.
At UFC 230, Souza finished off Weidman in the third round, in a fight that went back-and-forth, until Souza landed a few nasty shots in the final round of the fight.
The heart of the matter
Following his triumphant win at UFC 230, Ronald Souza has made it clear that he apparently isn't willing to play second fiddle to either current Middleweight Champion, Robert Whittaker or his next title challenger Kelvin Gastelum. Souza also noted that a fight that isn't a title bout isn't even an option for the Brazilian right now.
“I’m a plan A, man. I will fight for the belt. I want to wait for my chance. I’m a plan A, I will wait for my turn.”- Souza told MMA Fighting.
In addition, Souza also claimed that he has earned a lot of money this year, having already competed in three fights and winning three different bonuses and isn't willing to undergo the whole process of cutting weight and not entering the Octagon another time just like he did in 2016.
“I’ve made a lot of money this year. I fought three times, I won three bonuses. I have one performance bonus and two fights of the night, I knocked my last opponent out. I’ve made plenty of money, I can stay some time without fighting.”
What's next?
Kelvin Gastelum will challenge for Robert Whittaker's UFC Middleweight Championship at UFC 234 in Melbourne, Australia on the 9th of February.
