UFC 230: Chris Weidman and Ronaldo 'Jacare' Souza have crossed paths in the past
Chris Weidman at UFC 230 official weigh-ins at the Marriott Marquis hotel in Manhattan on Friday, Nov. 2, 2018. Credit: Newsday / Mark La Monica
Lurking about the top of the UFC middleweight division for the last five-plus years, Chris Weidman and Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza always seemed destined to fight one another at some point. Even amid losses or injuries, odds favored the two of them meeting in the octagon at some point before their careers ended.
That opportunity presents itself Saturday night when the two fight in the co-main event at UFC 230 at Madison Square Garden. The pairing came about after Weidman’s original opponent, Luke Rockhold, pulled out of the fight two-plus weeks ago. Jacare them moved off his fight with David Branch to face Weidman.
“It would have been a missed opportunity for us not to fight,” said the Baldwin-raised Weidman (14-3). “We’re definitely some of the more talented guys in the weight class since I’ve been in the sport, 10 years or so. I always saw it would be fun to compete against him.”
Jacare (25-6, 1 no contest) saw first-hand what an inexperienced Weidman could do. On Sept. 26, 2009, with just a few months of jiu-jitsu training under Matt Serra, Weidman competed in the Abu Dhabi Combat Club Submission Wrestling World Championships, a premier world-class event for grapplers.
It was there, in Barcelona, Spain, that Weidman first made a name for himself in the martial arts world. Weidman, a two-time All-American wrestler at both Hofstra and Nassau Community College, faced eight-time Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu world champion Andre Galvao in the quarterfinals of their weight division (194 pounds). Weidman gave Galvao all he could handle and went the distance. Galvao edged out a points victory at the end.
In Galvao’s corner that day? Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza.
“I saw he put a lot of pressure on Galvao,” Souza said of Weidman through an interpreter. “He surprised everyone. From that fight, I could tell he’s a very tough guy, a very good jiu-jitsu guy, so watch out.”
Mark La Monica is a deputy sports editor at Newsday. He also covers mixed martial arts.
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