What’s the story?
Top Middleweight contender Ronaldo ‘Jacare’ Souza has launched a verbal attack on former champion Luke Rockhold. According to Entimports.com, the Brazilian is euphoric to be fighting at UFC 208 even though he is not facing a top contender. He also said that he believes that Rockhold is scared to fight him. He was quoted stating the following:
“Rockhold is afraid. He said he’s hurt, but I see him training all the time on social media, and then he said he wanted to face Jon Jones in a grappling match in January. He’s not hurt. If he’s injured, he can’t grapple Jon Jones. It bothers me because I wanted to fight in November. Injuries are part of the sport, it happens, but I never thought Rockhold would fake an injury. At first I thought he was hurt, but now I see he just chickened out.”
In case you didn’t know...
The 37-year-old Brazilian was scheduled to face Rockhold in a rematch at UFC Fight Night 101. However, Rockhold pulled out of the fight due to an undisclosed injury. There were rumours that Rockhold might face Souza at UFC 208. However, he is still not fully fit.
‘Jacare’ will now be facing the number 14 ranked middleweight, Tim Boetsch instead.
The heart of the matter
A few days ago, Rockhold had called out Jon ‘Bones’ Jones to face him in a submission grappling match. This led to much speculation from fans that the American Kickboxing Academy member might have faked an injury.
The Brazilian has given voice to a theory speculated by some fans. He is adamant about his views that the American was scared to fight him and thus faked an injury.
What next?
Rockhold’s next opponent is currently uncertain. His return date to the Octagon is also unconfirmed. There have been some rumours that he might face Chris Weidman in a rematch in his return. As for ‘Jacare’, he is all set to face Tim Boetsch at UFC 208. The Brazilian is also hoping to get a title shot soon.
Sportskeeda’s Take
Rockhold trains at American Kickboxing Academy, which is highly infamous for training injuries. Thus, it might be a genuine injury that forced him out of the rematch against ‘Jacare’ Souza.
However, the American challenging Jones to a grappling match not so long after suffering the alleged injury does raise some questions about its authenticity. Souza’s suspicions about Rockhold’s injury might be justified.
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