Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza didn’t hold back when asked his thoughts on Luke Rockhold not accepting a new date for their postponed rematch from last year.
“Rockhold is afraid,” said Souza in an interview with MMA Fighting. “He said he’s hurt, but I see him training all the time on social media, and then he said he wanted to face Jon Jones in a grappling match in January. That makes no sense. He’s not hurt. If he’s injured, he can’t grapple Jon Jones. That’s impossible.
“It bothers me because I wanted to fight in November. Injuries are part of the sport, it happens, but I never thought Rockhold would fake an injury. At first I thought he was hurt, but now I see he just chickened out. It’s clear he’s not injured.”
Souza, a former Strikeforce champion who has lost just once inside the Octagon to Yoel Romero, is set to meet Tim Boetsch now at UFC 208 in February.
“At least I have an opponent and a fight,” Souza said. “Fighters that stayed inactive for a long time don’t do well in the end, so I wanted to stay active. My intention was to fight a top contender in the division, but everyone is hurt.
“This guy is trouble. Tim Boetsch is trouble. He has a heavy hand and can complicate anyone, but I will stay focused to put on a great fight and win. His power is incredible. He’s really dangerous. If you blink, you might wake up later wondering what happened.”
