Retired from MMA for 14 months, Ronaldo
Souza couldn’t stay away from the fighting world for too
long.
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Earlier this year, Souza
teased a foray into professional boxing. While that hasn’t yet
come to fruition, “Jacare” is still planning on making his debut in
the near future.
“What was breaking my body was the grappling routine. Boxing
is something that relaxes my body and mind. I’m really in love with
boxing and I’m looking forward to testing myself in a boxing ring,”
the two-time world absolute BJJ champion told Sherdog.com.
After hearing that his former UFC opponent, Vitor
Belfort, had accepted a challenge from Brazilian boxing legend
Acelino “Popo” Freitas, “Jacare” taunted “the Phenom.” Souza and
Belfort initially fought at UFC 198, with “Jacare” winning via
first-round TKO in their May 2016 bout.
”Come on Belfort, Popo is a small guy. Come to fight someone of
your size, maybe in a boxing rematch you can do something,” Souza
said.
When it comes to former opponents, Souza sees Luke
Rockhold as the favorite in his upcoming showdown with Paulo Costa
at UFC 278.
“Luke is more complete,” he said. “I see a bad matchup for
‘Borrachinha.’”
Meanwhile, Souza views Andre Muniz,
who submitted the former Strikeforce champion in his last UFC
fight, as one of the three best ground fighters in MMA today.
“This guy is really talented,” Souza said. “I see Andre, Glover
[Teixeira] and Charles
Oliveira as the best ground fighters of MMA nowadays. ‘Do
Bronx’ has already beaten all the records, nobody has ever
done what this guy is doing, I have no doubt that soon he will be a
Hall of Famer.”
In regards to the next career step for Oliveira, Jacare offered a
tip.
“He beat 11 Americans in their country in a row. He defended
the belt twice against Gaethje and Poirier in their home [country].
If the UFC holds an event in Brazil in December or January, it
doesn’t make any sense to not put him atop that card. It’s
a total lack of respect for Charles and also for Brazilian
fans.
“Also, he shouldn’t feel pressure to fight soon. This guy is coming
from three wars against Chandler, Poirier and Gaethje. His body
needs to recover. I truly hope his manager has the balls to fight
for what he deserves.”