Robert Whittaker certainly isn’t interested in underestimating Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza.
This Saturday night (April 15), Whittaker and Souza will clash inside the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Missouri. The middleweight tilt will be part of the main card of UFC on FOX 24. “Jacare” will be Whittaker’s highest ranked opponent. Souza sits at the third spot on the official Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) middleweight rankings.
Whittaker is far from a slouch himself. He holds the sixth spot on the 185-pound rankings. Whittaker is currently riding a six-fight winning streak, while Souza has gone 10-1 in his last 11 outings.
Speaking with MMAJunkie.com, Whittaker expressed his joy in not having to face “Jacare” in a jiu-jitsu match. He also explained why it’s important not to look past Souza:
“My future doesn’t go further than ‘Jacare.’ If I were to look past him, I would be disrespecting him, and he’s a fighter I do not want to disrespect. He hits like a truck, and he’s got next-to-legendary jiu-jitsu. Thank God it’s not a jiu-jitsu match. We’re going to go out there, start standing, and it’s a fight. I think I have superior hands, I’ve got really good movement, I’m very fast, and I hit hard. If he can get around that, props to him.”
