After a brief flirtation with the 205lb division, it’s back to middleweight for Brazil’s Jacare, who gets stand-up specialist Uriah Hall at UFC 249.
That didn’t last long. Jacare Souza’s time as a light heavyweight is over, it seems. Per a report by ESPN, Souza will drop back down to the middleweight division for his next fight, after a lone bout at 205lbs. At UFC 249, he’s set to take on Uriah Hall, in what could turn out to be an interesting clash of styles.
Souza (26-8, 1 NC) has hit hard times of late. The former Strikeforce middleweight champion has long been in search of a title shot in the UFC. However, he’s dropped two straight fights, and four of his last six. While three of those have resulted in post-fight bonuses (Fight of the Night twice, and a Performance of the Night), he’s as far as ever from a chance to win gold. A move up to the light heavyweight division, following in the footsteps of Thiago Santos and Anthony Smith, did not go as planned, as the Brazilian dropped a split decision to Jan Blachowicz.
The fight did not go over well with fans and critics.
Uriah Hall (15-9) has been trending in the opposite direction lately. While Souza enters the fight off two straight losses, Hall will head into UFC 249 on a modest two-fight win streak. Victories over Bevon Lewis and Antonio Carlos Junior have bumped him into the #10 slot in the UFC’s official middleweight rankings. After the foray up to light heavyweight, Souza is not ranked in the division (he sits at #15 at 205lbs).
UFC 249 takes place April 18, 2020 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The card is expected to be headlined by Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Tony Ferguson, booked for the umpteenth time.
