What Jorge Masvidal had to offer on Saturday was some of the best UFC athletes of yesteryear, competing not in the cage but the ring — which created a bit of a curiosity factor if nothing else. That certainly held true with the co-main event, where former UFC champ Vitor Belfort faced off with ex-UFC standout and Strikeforce champ Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza.

The six-round cruiserweight fight was the first action for Jacare since retiring from MMA in 2021, while Belfort had beat up Evander Holyfield in an exhibition bout that same year.

While there was plenty of feeling out early, Vitor let his power be felt in the form of his left hand, which split the guard at one point, and hooked around it a short time later. Jacare played a patient game, creeping forward, extending his left arm and occasionally pumping the jab. By the end of a mostly uneventful opening round, Souza’s nose was bloodied just a touch.

The pair opened up a little more in the second, trading blows in the corner, with Belfort standing with his back to the ropes. Belfort opted to clinch a little in this round, before ripping a 1-2. Another clinch, and it was Souza ripping the body on the restart. In the dying seconds of the frame, Souza hit an uppercut to the body, and Belfort landed his left. Right at the end of the round, Souza tripped and fell.

It was no trip in the third, with Belfort knocking his fellow Brazilian down inside of a minute. Souza would return to his feet and continue, but Vitor smelled blood. He went after Souza, forcing Jacare to clinch. Back underway, it was left hook after left hook as Belfort walked his opponent down. A second knockdown came in the final minute, care of an overhand left. Souza beat the count, and made it out of the round, but the was a brutal round for him.

Round four saw Souza land a right hand early, but another left hand hit home on Jacare ahead of the midway mark. Belfort was bloodied by an eye, but that didn’t seem to be bothering him much. Jacare continued to work the body throughout the round, but it was Vitor’s left hand that was the real threat.

The pace had slowed by the fifth, not surprising given Souza and Belfort had a combined age of 89. Lots of clinching peppered the round, with Jacare landing a right, and Belfort another big left with about a minute to go. Belfort was against the ropes, with Jacare working the dirty boxing. The fifth, especially the final minute, might very well have been the best round from Jacare Souza.

The sixth and final frame saw some heavy shots traded in the opening minute, with both men landing. Belfort had Jacare hurt, chased him, and nearly walked into a counter. Both men were bloodied. A left and an uppercut landed for Belfort! Jacare escaped and clinched, forcing the ref to break them.

Despite Jacare’s bread and butter in MMA being his grappling, he acquitted himself relatively well on Saturday night. But the fight belonged to Vitor Belfort, who took the clear decision on the judges’ scorecards. On his 46th birthday no less, giving “The Phenom” a nice little gift.

Official Result: Vitor Belfort def. Jacare Souza by unanimous decision (58-54, 58-54, 57-55)

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Jorge Masvidal has a big card planned for Gambred Boxing 4 on April 1, one that will include a host of MMA notables.

Appearing on The MMA Hour on Monday, Masvidal revealed that Anthony Pettis will headline the show against boxing legend Roy Jones Jr.

Pettis, a former UFC and WEC lightweight champion, was most recently seen competing for the Professional Fighters League. His last season didn’t end well, however, with “Showtime” losing to fellow UFC vet Stevie Ray twice in 2022, ending up being bounced from the playoffs by the Scotsman.

Roy Jones Jr., who retired as a pro back in 2018 with a record of 66-9, was last seen in an exhibition bout against Mike Tyson in 2020. The bout was ruled a draw as it went the distance due to its exhibition nature, with most feeling Tyson would have won.

The big name match-ups don’t stop there. Jose Aldo, who will make his pro boxing debut later this month, will return to the ring against an old UFC rival in Jeremy Stephens. Vitor Belfort, meanwhile, will take on Jacare Souza, in a match-up of Brazilian legends.

Paul “Semtex” Daley, who retired from MMA last year, will also take part, facing Anthony Taylor, who infamously scuffled with Dillon Danis following a Misfits Boxing weigh-in last year. UFC vets Pearl Gonzalez and Gina Mazany will also collide.

According to Masvidal, all of the announced bouts will be six rounds, except for the main event. That is likely to be a 10-round affair. All will also be professional bouts, not exhibitions.

“Always been a fan of Roy Jones, always wanted to work with Roy Jones in some capacity,” Masvidal said Monday.

Gamebred Boxing 4 will take place at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on April 1, 2023. The full card as it currently sits breaks down as follows:

Anthony Pettis vs. Roy Jones Jr.
Vitor Belfort vs. Ronaldo Souza
Jose Aldo vs. Jeremy Stephens
Devin Cushing vs. Damian Marciano
Pearl Gonzalez vs. Gina Mazany
Paul Daley vs. Anthony Taylor
Dillon Klecker vs. Josh Burns
Bi Nguyen vs. TBD

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On Tuesday, Ronaldo Souza, better known as “Jacare,” announced his retirement at age 41. The longtime middleweight had become a staple in the UFC, and a popular favorite among fans — not to mention his time as Strikeforce middleweight champion.

Souza (26-10, 1NC) confirmed his decision to Brazilian outlet Combate. He had been mired in a four-fight slump, and had his arm broken by Andre Muniz in his last outing, at UFC 262.

Prior to that skid, Souza had been trading wins and losses, dropping fights to ex-champ Robert Whittaker and Kelvin Gastelum, while earning wins against Derek Brunson and another former champ, Chris Weidman.

Souza signed with the UFC in 2013, after his former home, Strikeforce, was absorbed by the promotion. He won his first five UFC fights prior to running into Yoel Romero. During his run inside the octagon, Jacare earned seven post-fight bonuses, including three back-to-back-to-back in 2018 alone.

The highlight of his career, however, was arguably his Strikeforce title win. Souza won the belt against Tim Kennedy at Strikeforce: Houston in 2010, and defend the belt a year later against “Ruthless” Robbie Lawler. Later that same year, he’d lose the strap to Luke Rockhold.

While confirming his retirement from fighting, Souza has left the door open for a return to jiu-jitsu competition. For good reason: 14 of his 26 wins have come via submission.

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That strong start was derailed when opponent Andre Muniz trapped Souza in an awkward looking arm-bar.

And then came the snap.

The force Muniz applied to Jacare’s limb resulted in a broken arm, audible to viewers at home watching the UFC 262 broadcast (the fight was the featured preliminary card bout on ESPN). While it may have gone unnoticed by many in the stands, it was impossible not to hear the sound of Jacare’s arm breaking on replay after replay — yet despite that, Souza showed little sign of the injury.

WOW 🤯@andremunizufc is able to earn a submission against Jacare at #UFC262 pic.twitter.com/45NMJCn4TF

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) May 16, 2021

The fighter’s doctor, however, confirmed Sunday that Souza had broken his humerus, and will undertake surgery in the United States shortly, prior to returning to Brazil. Rickson Moraes, the fighter’s longtime physician, revealed the news to MMA Fighting.

“In general, he’s fine, despite the fracture,” Moraes told the site. However, seeing as how the procedure is urgent, it will take place in the coming days.

Souza suffered the first submission defeat of his career at UFC 262 — at the loss represented his fourth straight. A troubling number for the 41-year old fighter, who is teetering on the precipice of the end of his career.

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The Brazilian legend and former Strikeforce champion, at age 41, entered his fight against Andre Muniz on a three-fight losing streak. While there was an argument to be made that those three losses came against some of the best in the middleweight (and light heavyweight) division, the optics were not good.

For Muniz, meanwhile, Jacare represented a chance to get noticed, with what would no doubt be the biggest name to date faced in his career.

Noticed he was.

As always, Jacare did his alligator crawl into the octagon Saturday, capped off with a cartwheel. But it was Muniz getting going first with a kick Saturday, while Jacare answered back with his hands. Souza put the pressure on early, finally closing the distance about a minute in, dropping for a level change. He landed the takedown, and pulled the legs out from under Muniz while the younger man’s back was to the fence. Souza then softened up Muniz with punches, but before long, Muniz was back on his feet.

Back out in the open, Muniz was soon able to land a takedown of his own. While he couldn’t hold him Souza down, it was a good sign for Muniz, who later took the back of Jacare standing. When they went down, Muniz latched onto Souza’s arm, potentially breaking it before Jacare could tap! The snap was clear as day on replay, a sound not likely to be forgotten soon.

Sergipano submits the legend!

🇧🇷 @AndreMunizUFC gets it done lightning fast in RD 1! #UFC262 pic.twitter.com/hlhuZ0iaj3

— UFC (@ufc) May 16, 2021

Official Result: Andre Muniz def. Jacare Souza by submission (arm-bar), Round 1, 3:59

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Combate was the first to report the news that Ronaldo ‘Jacare’ Souza will fight Andre Muniz at UFC 262 on May 15. Both of the middleweights would later confirm the booking on social media.

Muniz (20-4) has been on a roll in the UFC since winning a contract on season three of Dana White’s Contender Series in 2018. The Brazilian would get a second shot at the Contender series against Taylor Johnson almost a year to the day that he competed on the show’s Brazil version. He would submit Johnson in the first round. Muniz then made his UFC debut three months later against Antônio Arroyo at UFC on ESPN+ 22: Blachowicz vs. Jacare, winning a unanimous decision. His only fight in 2020 was a Performance of the Night submission win against Bartosz Fabiński.

Souza (26-9-1) is on the first losing streak of his illustrious MMA career and desperately needs a win. He is coming off two decision losses to Jack Hermansson and current light heavyweight champion Jan Błachowicz, and a vicious knockout loss to Kevin Holland.

UFC 262 takes place May 15, 2021. With the addition of Jacare vs. Muniz, the event now contains the following fights:

• Charles Oliveira vs. Michael Chandler – for the vacant UFC lightweight championship
• Tony Ferguson vs. Beneil Dariush
• Jack Hermansson vs. Edmen Shahbazyan
• Jacare Souza vs. Andre Muniz
• Priscila Cachoeira vs. Gina Mazany
• Katlyn Chookagian vs. Viviane Araújo
• Alex Perez vs. Matt Schnell
• Andrea Lee vs. Antonina Shevchenko
• Edson Barboza vs. Shane Burgos
• Jordan Wright vs. Jamie Pickett
• Christos Giagos vs. Joel Álvarez

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Tony Ferguson

Tony Ferguson’s loss at UFC 256 to Charles Oliveira marks Ferguson’s second straight loss. Losing to number seven ranked Oliveira will probably push Ferguson outside of the top five. His next fight should be against another guy that is currently on a two-fight losing streak. Paul Felder against Tony Ferguson would be one of the most violent fights in UFC history. Tony Ferguson is the kind of guy that needs to be in an ugly fight. Felder is the perfect fighter to give him that fight.

Ferguson’s next fight: Paul Felder 

Virna Jandiroba

Virna Jandiroba lost a decision to Mackenzie Dern at UFC 256. In a crazy back and forth scrap, Dern edged out a win with her precision striking and ground control. Jandiroba’s next fight should be against the Brazilian Gangsta, Livinha Souza. These two were originally set to fight in December of 2019 but the fight fell through. Now that both women are close in the rankings it would be another great time to put this fight together.

Jandiroba’s next fight: Livinha Souza 

Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza

Jacare Souza looked great at the beginning of his fight this past weekend against Kevin Holland. He landed a takedown and had control of Holland on the ground. That was before Holland landed a power punch from his back and rocked Souza. Holland jumped up and finished Souza in the first round. This loss puts Souza on a three-fight losing streak, his last win being in November of 2018. Souza is 41 years old so it would not be surprising to see him on the list of fighters being cut before the new year.

Souza’s next fight: Outside the UFC

Junior Dos Santos

Junior Dos Santos was knocked out in the second round by Ciryl Gane at UFC 256. Santos is only 36 years old but is still in a similar position as Souza. Santos is currently on a four-fight losing streak, being knocked out in all four of those losses. There are some good fights for Santos still in the UFC. Although it would seem the UFC is looking to get a little younger so they may not want to give Santos another shot.

Santos’ next fight: Outside the UFC 

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Kevin Holland attempted to cap off his excellent 2020 with the biggest win of his career against Jacare Souza at UFC 256. Holland ended his 2019 with a loss to Brendan Allen, but has taken advantage of the slew of events that have happened during the COVID-19 pandemic. This year, Holland has gone 4-0 with three stoppages.

After signing with the UFC, Jacare went 9-3 with untimely losses to Yoel Romero and Robert Whittaker. A five-round loss to Jack Hermansson sent him to the light heavyweight division, where he was stopped by Jan Blachowicz. Souza returned to middleweight for UFC 256.

Kevin Holland blasted a right straight to start the fight and Jacare immediately shot for the takedown. Holland attempted to sweep him, but Souza held him down. Holland began working for a triangle choke and fired some hard elbows at Souza from his back. Souza passed the guard and Holland used the opportunity to stand up. Souza hung onto his back and pushed him to the fence. Holland turned and began elbowing Souza in the clinch. Souza found an opening to take Holland down into guard and postured up to land some ground-and-pound while Holland was trash-talking. Holland fired back with a right hand from the bottom that stung Jacare. Another one from his back sent Souza backwards and Holland followed up to get the stoppage. A full-on KO from his back. You don’t see that every day.

كيفن هولاند يهزم جاكاري سوزا بالضربة القاضية في الجولة الأولى .. #UFC256 pic.twitter.com/68Gy4Oqav1

— UFC Arab (@UFC_Arab) December 13, 2020

After the fight, Holland angled for a fight with Khamzat Chimaev next week, saying he’d “bang that boy up” if Chimaev chooses to fight at middleweight. Holland is the third fighter in UFC history to score five wins in a calendar year, and now he’s looking for number six.

Kevin Holland def. Jacare Souza by KO (Seated Right Hook) in Round 1 (1:45) 

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Good thing, too, because his fight with Kevin Holland this weekend was not the bout he was expecting.

Souza (26-8, 1NC), a former Strikeforce and Dream middleweight champ, was supposed to be fighting Marvin Vettori. But the “Italian Dream” was pulled from the fight and relocated to this past weekend’s UFC Vegas 16 main event. Where Vettori defeated Jack Hermansson.

It’s a fight the UFC discussed with Souza as well.

“They talked about ‘The Joker’ but he was scared,” the 41-year old said Tuesday. “I know he was scared, nobody can give me a rematch. He picked the Italian Dream, and the UFC put me to fight against [Kevin] Holland. Holland’s a great fighter, he came with some good victories, and I’m ready to fight against this guy.”

Holland is the man who Hermansson was supposed to fight just days ago. A positive COVID-19 test forced the American out of that bout. Just a week later, and he’s already cleared to compete.

The coronavirus is something Jacare knows about all too well. Souza was the first UFC fighter to test positive and be pulled from an event, earlier this year.

“I felt bad, I was the first guy who got that crazy virus. So it was a bad moment for me,” he admitted. “But right now I’m very confident, I did a very hard training camp. And I prefer to talk about my new moment.”

He’s also staying positive when asked about potential cuts coming to the UFC. 43-year old Yoel Romero was recently given his pink slip. UFC President Dana White has said that up to 60 cuts could happen by the end of the year. Just a few years younger than Romero, Souza could be on thin ice, especially on a two-fight skid.

On that front, Souza noted that “I’m in a different situation.” Especially since “I have a fight coming up. Romero turned down many fights and many events because he couldn’t fight,” he added.

Watch the full UFC 256 virtual media day pres scrum with Jacare Souza above. The event takes place this Saturday, December 12 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, NV.

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During Saturday’s UFC Vegas 15 broadcast, promotion officials announced that Holland has been booked against Jacare Souza at UFC 256 on December 12. The match-up makes all the sense in the world, as Souza’s original opponent on the card, Marvin Vettori, is the man filling in for Holland against Hermansson next.

MW contenders set to collide at #UFC256

🇺🇸 @Trailblaze2top vs 🇧🇷 @JacareMMA🐊 pic.twitter.com/wEQqjlIYiY

— UFC (@ufc) November 29, 2020

In short, it’s a trade.

Holland was forced out of his main event middleweight scrap with “The Joker” due to a positive COVID-19 test. That news was first reported by ESPN’s Ariel Helwani, and later confirmed by the UFC during Saturday’s broadcast.

Souza (26-8, 1NC) is just 2-4 in his last six fights, and has lost two straight. His most recent fight came in November 2019, when he made an ill-fated move to 205lbs, only to be finished by Jan Blachowicz. Of course, with Blachowicz now holding light heavyweight gold, that loss doesn’t look as bad in hindsight. Still, the Brazilian is in need of a win as he returns to his usual home at middleweight.

Holland (20-5) will enter the fight on a four-fight win streak. All four of those wins have come in 2020, and he’ll be looking to make it five for five this calendar year.

UFC 256 is headlined by Amanda Nunes vs. Megan Anderson Petr Yan vs. Aljamain Sterling Deiveson Figueiredo vs. Brandon Moreno.

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