Retired from mixed martial arts since a submission loss to
Andre
Muniz at UFC 262 last May, Ronaldo
Souza is planning a return to combat sports – this time under
boxing rules.
“I couldn’t stay away from my training routine,” Souza told
Sherdog.com. “I began to train boxing and I received a proposal to
fight that I liked.”
Since he hasn’t signed the contract yet, “Jacare” was unable to
reveal the event and potential opponent for his boxing debut, but
he confirmed that the deal is close to being finalized.
“I cannot say the name of the event yet. What I can say is that my
boxing is being sharpened already,” he said. “Even though I came
from jiu-jitsu, I´ve always loved boxing, and if you see my MMA
fights, I’ve always had strong hands.”
Considered one of the most respected jiu-jitsu champions of
all-time, Souza was a two-time absolute jiu-jitsu champion (2004
and 2005) and one-time ADCC middleweight champion (2005) . In MMA,
he compiled a 26-10 career mark, capturing the Strikeforce
middleweight belt in 2010.
“Jacare” began his UFC tenure with victories in seven of his first
eight fights – losing only to Yoel Romero
in a controversial split decision. However, a TKO defeat to
Robert
Whittaker in 2017 ruined his hopes of a title shot. After that
loss, Souza authored impressive KO wins over Chris
Weidman and Derek
Brunson before calling it a career after four consecutive
defeats within the Las Vegas-based promotion.