Jacaré (left) faces Gastelum (right) at UFC 224. Photo: Reproduction / Twitter UFC
Former Strikeforce champion, Ronaldo Jacare, asked for a chance to fight in UFC 244, which will be held on November 2nd in New York. The fighter is coming off a tough defeat against Jack hermansson, which took away his opportunity to finally fight for the middleweight belt (up to 83,9kg.). In an attempt to draw the attention of the card's promoters, the Brazilian challenged one of his last tormentors, Kelvin Gastelum, who is also coming off a career defeat and expressed his desire to work in New York. The request was made following a recent post on his official Instagram account.
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“There’s nowhere to run. It’s time!”, published the Espírito Santo, sharing an image containing his and Kelvin’s faces, displaying the flags of their respective countries.
Ronaldo had a solid and consistent moment in his career. Between 2009 and 2014, there were 16 fights and only two defeats. One, for Luke Rockhold, when he was still playing for Strikeforce and resulted in the loss of his belt, and the other, to Yoel romero, in a clash that had a controversial result. Jacaré was defeated in a split decision by the judges.
Although he had a great time in Ultimate, whenever he got close to a chance to be a title challenger, the Brazilian slipped up against an opponent. In the last two years, Ronaldo has fought six times, winning half. In his last engagement, however, in April, the fighter took to the octagon against Hermansson with the promise that, if he won, he would be the challenger for Whittaker's belt, to whom he lost in 2017. With the pressure on his shoulders, the Brazilian went dominated by the opponent, who, after the victory, took Espírito Santo's place in the division's ranking and even pushed Ronaldo to fifth place.
Challenged, Gastelum currently occupies third place in the division rankings. The North American comes from a tough fight against Israel adesanya, valid for the interim title of the category, for the UFC 236. On that occasion, the fighters fought a bloody duel and, so far, marked one of the most exciting clashes of the year.
Two potential opponents for Gastelum have commitments scheduled. Romero (3rd) faces Paulo borrachinha at UFC 241, in August; Hermansson (4th), has a fight against Jared Cannonier, In September. Furthermore, Adesanya and Whittaker will fight for title unification in October, for UFC 243.
Jacaré turns 40 in December and needs to perform more often so that he can return to the spotlight of the category and receive his dream fight for the UFC belt. The man from Espírito Santo has 33 fights in his professional record, 26 wins, seven losses and one fight without results.
Kelvin, 27, has 15 wins and four setbacks since making his professional debut in 2012.
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There's nowhere to run!! @kgastelum It's Time?! #RonaldoJacare 🐊 🇧🇷 #UFCNewYork
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