Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza has been deserving of a middleweight title shot for years, but circumstance and timing has kept him from realizing his dream. Now, the jiu-jitsu black belt has a fight scheduled for UFC 208 in Brooklyn, but it is a head-scratching matchup against Tim Boetsch.
UFC officials confirmed with Newsday that Jacare vs. Boetsch would take place at the Feb. 11 event.
Souza (23-4, 1 NC) last fought at UFC 198 in May, defeating Vitor Belfort by first-round TKO. He was then scheduled to face former champion Luke Rockhold in November, with the winner a frontrunner for a title shot at champion Michael Bisping. Rockhold withdrew from the fight with an injury. The UFC did not find a replacement for Souza and he was pulled from the card.
Amp Ad
Boetsch (20-10) is only the #14 ranked middleweight, making this matchup surprising. He is coming off of knockout victories over Rafael Natal and the late Josh Samman.
With Jacare’s former opponent Yoel Romero likely the next title challenger and the other top contenders unavailable, Souza will look to stay active when he takes on a lesser-ranked but always-dangerous Tim Boetsch in Brooklyn.
UFC 208 is headlined by the inaugural women’s featherweight title fight between Holly Holm and Germaine De Randamie.